Eva, February 1999 (Philadelphia, Penn.) -
VP candidate for Surprise Party (2000)
Running mate with nominee: Vanessa (b. 1999)
Popular vote: ? (0.00%)
Electoral vote: 0/538
The campaign:
Vanessa was an 11 and a half inch doll created by Jennifer Baker. The doll was portrayed as a college educated African-American woman and was part of a multicultural package. The dolls as a group were known as the Get Set Club, but collectors called them the G5 due to their names Gia, Fiona, Isabella, Vanessa, and Eva. Unlike the Barbie dolls, Baker's creations were closer to resembling real human beings. The Eva doll appeared to be of Nordic heritage.
In the planning stages since the mid-1990s, the dolls were introduced to the world at the Toy Fair in New York, Feb. 1999.
When Mattel decided to run the Barbie doll for President again in 2000, as they had in 1992, Baker responded to the competition in a clever marketing tactic by announcing Vanessa's entry to the race. But Vanessa had something Barbie did not-- a running-mate and Cabinet appointments: Eva (Vice-President), Isabella (Secretary of State), Gia (Secretary of Treasury) and Fiona (Surgeon General).
Baker told the media in late June 2000, "It's about time we had a candidate who actually does something. She's more than just pretty in pink. She's smart. She's independent. She's the only candidate in this campaign who can stand on her own two feet and I mean that, literally." The Vanessa/Eva ticket ran under the Surprise Party, which was also the name Gracie Allen used for her party in 1940 as well as John O'Leary in 1984.
Aside from being dolls, Vanessa and Eva were way under the age of 35 in 2000, making them ineligible in any case to take office in the event of their victory. Unfortunately, the Get Set Club seemed to have had only a brief commercial existence but did manage to make a mark in history during that window of time.
Election history: none
Other occupations: doll
Notes:
The G5 dolls appear to be highly collectible these days.
