Pretty In Pink

In yet another piece on princess mania, Jessica Bennett, reviewing Peggy Orenstein's Cinderella Ate My Daughter in Newsweek, notes:

[According to Orenstein] there is one very big thing that separates [her daughter's] generation from those who came before her—and it’s called mass marketing. Disney alone has 26,000 Disney princess items on the market today, part of a $4 billion-a-year franchise that is the fastest-growing brand the company has ever created. “What these companies will tell you is that girls want this, so they give it to them,” says Orenstein. But for girls who don’t want to play with pink princess toys, there’s virtually no other option

I don't have any strong opinions on the subject, but is mass marketing really making all the difference?  Princesses have been big for a long time, and while Disney may be pushing it, it's hard not to believe, as they say, that the audience isn't already somewhat willing.  It's not as if they haven't tried to push other items in the past.  If marketing makes so much difference, why doesn't Tonka spend some promotional money and double the toy truck market.

And really, "virtually no other option"?  I've bought presents for my niece, and while there's plenty of the pink and frilly out there, there's more stuff available in general than ever before.