Business Wars

It’s the 1960s and Hasbro is struggling. The pencil manufacturer turned toymaker hasn’t had a major success since Mr. Potato Head hit the shelves in 1952, and it’s starting to lose money. If the company doesn’t act fast, it’ll be headed for bankruptcy in no time.

Mattel’s “accessories sold separately” approach to Barbie has revolutionized the industry. Now Hasbro’s toymakers hope to replicate her success with a doll of their own—for boys. But first, they’ll have to get the green light from CEO Merrill Hassenfeld, who has one iron-clad rule about new toys: no dolls.

Meanwhile, Mattel’s about to roll out a hot new boy-themed toy of its own that will cement the company’s status as the world’s top toymaker.

This episode originally aired on March 25, 2019.

Listen to new episodes 1 week early and to all episodes ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Available in the Wondery App https://wondery.app.link/businesswars 

Support us by supporting our sponsors!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It’s the late 1940s and two small toymakers are taking their first uneasy steps. The names of these young hopefuls are Hasbro and Mattel. One’s an offshoot of a pencil manufacturer. The other a husband-and-wife garage start-up. 

But toy-making, they soon discover, is an unexpectedly cutthroat business. If either of these companies hopes to survive--let alone succeed--they’re going to need to get creative. Disrupting the embedded and experienced kingpins of Toyland, will require them to take chances on TV, potatoes, Mickey Mouse and one particularly risqué novelty doll from Germany.

This episode originally aired on March 20, 2019. 

Listen to new episodes 1 week early and to all episodes ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Available in the Wondery App https://wondery.app.link/businesswars.

Support us by supporting our sponsors! 

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

With TikTok’s legal future hanging in the balance, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg hasn’t been shy about borrowing what works from the Chinese upstart and replicating it within Instagram. But his copycat feature Reels made more of a ripple than a splash when it debuted. For more on TikTok’s woes, we speak with Taylor Lorenz. She covers culture and technology for the New York Times and tells us why TikTok’s success can’t be easily duplicated and how Instagram’s Reels-focused redesign angered the platform’s long time influencers.

Listen to new episodes 1 week early and to all episodes ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Available in the Wondery App https://wondery.app.link/businesswars.

Support us by supporting our sponsors!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It's July 2020. TikTok usage has skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic, but it faces an unexpected threat — powerful politicians with their own agenda. Now, TikTok must find a solution or risk being shut down in the U.S. 

Instagram, meanwhile, strikes back with a new feature. It's another copycat product the company's putting front and center for its 1 billion users. And one that could spell trouble for TikTok. 

 Listen to new episodes 1 week early and to all episodes ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Available in the Wondery App https://wondery.app.link/businesswars.

Support us by supporting our sponsors!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It’s November 2018. Mark Zuckerberg takes a hit as his copycat TikTok product fails miserably. Then, Instagram faces another disaster when a security breach draws ire from users. But Zuckerberg decides to launch a direct attack on his Chinese competitor.

 TikTok emerges as a major hitmaker in the music business and cements its place in pop culture. But founder Zhang Yiming's hot app comes under scrutiny from regulators, as it gets drawn into a geopolitical battle that could spell the end of TikTok.

 Listen to new episodes 1 week early and to all episodes ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Available in the Wondery App https://wondery.app.link/businesswars.

Support us by supporting our sponsors!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It's August 2016 and Instagram co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger are about to pull off the tech equivalent of a heist — and they just might get away with it. But despite its success, Instagram faces trouble at home when Mark Zuckerberg starts rocking the boat.

In China, TikTok founder Zhang Yiming has his eyes on global expansion. He's willing to spend big to acquire his competition — and that poses a huge threat to Instagram's supremacy.

 Listen to new episodes 1 week early and to all episodes ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Available in the Wondery App https://wondery.app.link/businesswars.

Support us by supporting our sponsors!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It’s the mid '90s and Kevin Systrom is editing a video game. It's his first taste of coding, but it won't be his last. When he grows up, he's going to build a product used by more than a billion people. 

Across the Pacific Ocean, in a rural part of China, Zhang Yiming is having a very different childhood. But he and Systrom share a common North Star: The American Dream. Achieving that dream, however, will be a nightmare filled with stiff competition and cut-throat corporate maneuvers.

Listen to new episodes 1 week early and to all episodes ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Available in the Wondery App. https://wondery.app.link/businesswars

Support us by supporting our sponsors!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It’s July 2010, and Kevin Systrom is on holiday in Mexico when he has an idea for how to save his failing app: offer filters to make users’ photos more appealing. He gets back to San Francisco and teams up with his friend Mike Krieger. Together they launch Instagram, a platform that will revolutionize how we interact with society.

Meanwhile in Beijing, China, Zhang Yiming starts a news aggregator app powered by AI. It learns which stories users like and feeds them more of it, giving people what they want before they know it. This powerful algorithm will become the foundation for TikTok, an app that will become a proxy battleground for the feud between the U.S. and China. 

Listen to new episodes 1 week early and to all episodes ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Available in the Wondery App. https://wondery.app.link/businesswars.

Support us by supporting our sponsors!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Black Friday, the busiest shopping day of the year, will break the mold this year, as the pandemic sends retailers scrambling for new ways to bring in customers while minimizing large crowds. But the changes to American shopping habits predate the pandemic. Host David Brown talks with Business Insider retail correspondent Madeline Stone about what to expect from a COVID Christmas and which changes to our spending habits are likely to stick. 

Listen ad-free on Wondery+ here

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Consumers are increasingly looking to buy from brands whose values match their own, and denim is no different. These days, the jeans giants are not only facing down threats from each other, but navigating a new era of partisan consumerism. For more on how denim and other industries are appealing to consumers on both sides of the aisle, we speak with Cait Lamberton. She's a professor of marketing at Wharton who specializes in consumption behavior and marketing practice. Plus, she shares advice for entrepreneurs wondering whether to take their brands political. 

Listen ad-free on Wondery+ here

Support us by supporting our sponsors!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.