Whatever Happened To Baby Alive Dolls?

Another secret to Baby Alive dolls’ success was an extensive TV marketing strategy. When they first hit the market, the toys were relatively cheap, and retailers made slim margins, overcome by demand from TV. In 1992, Kenner marketing director Laura Pugh called that the “I want it factor.” Pugh said, “For all the dolls that walk, and talk, and sing, and whatever they do, there is nothing compared to eating and relieving, or whatever you want to call it.” Reportedly, the exact workings of the “digestive” system was kept proprietary.

Hasbro bought Kenner in 1991, and around that same time the dolls were updated with new food flavors like cherry, banana, and sweet pea. In 1992, a talking version was introduced, letting the owner know it had to go, but that doll was discontinued. Over the years Baby Alive dolls have seen redesigns and other updates, and they’re made today with different hair and skin colors, new accessories, and other added features. 

One version, the Baby Alive Sweet Tears Baby, released in 2017, speaks more than 30 phrases in English and Spanish. It also drinks from a juice box, seems to cry real tears, and in case you’re wondering — kids still have to change its diaper.