Cindy (also spelt Sindy) was originally a UK devised children's doll that was launched in the US as a competitor to Barbie. It struggled to compete and was remodelled and relaunched. It became so similar to its competitor that it attracted a law suit for copyright infringement and was dropped by its creator.
Due to the focus in its product life on
unrealistic feminine beauty ideals and market
competition, as well as due to its ultimate
commercial failure, Cindy/Sindy has become a by-word for the pretty but unpopular, cheaper, loser model that flopped; an also-ran; a generic category filler that is apparently competitive, but ultimately no-one buys.
The term "cindy-moment" is used to describe poor strategic judgment.