girl power. The Forever Girl

Barbara Millicent Roberts made her debut on March 9, 1959, serenaded at the American Toy Fair in New York, by Mattel Inc.

Although Barbie was created with much thought and love by Ruth Handler, the former president of Mattel Inc, after watching her daughter and her friends play with a paper doll, this blue-eyed, blond-haired princess’ debut was not really a fairy tale one. Barbie’s success came after Mattel took a leaf out of the Disney playbook and invested heavily in television advertising and marketing.

But once she became the belle of the ball, there has been no looking back for Barbie, dozens of controversies notwithstanding. If anything, Barbie has emerged stronger after every controversy, re-moulding herself. She has broken every glass ceiling in terms of careers, adapted to many cultures and become identified as the symbol of every girl’s dream.

As her creator Handler said, “My whole philosophy of Barbie was that, through the doll, the little girl could be anything she wanted to be.”

Can we co-relate Barbie’s interesting journey with the progress of women in society and the workplace? Jessie Paul, Managing Director, Paul Writer, a marketing advisory firm, believes so. She says, “ Barbie’s journey has tracked that of women in general — from the kitchen to the workplace. From focusing on looks — her first avatar was as a teenage fashion model — she has had over 125 careers now.” Barbie is even on LinkedIn, points out Paul.

She adds that the Barbie of today reflects the greater degrees of freedom that women have now. Given Barbie’s interesting back story, Paul feels that Barbie is an appropriate symbol of women’s ongoing journey to control their own destiny.

Significantly, Mattel has launched a disabled Barbie with a prosthetic leg and one in a wheelchair as well as one that supports LGBTQ rights, showing its commitment to inclusivity. To celebrate the doll's 60th birthday, Mattel has also announced a slew of projects designed to level the play field for girls. It will donate one dollar for every doll sold up to $250,00 to the Dream Gap project launched last year aimed at helping girls reach their full potential.

At 60, Barbie may still not have a single wrinkle and seem ageless. But the little doll had to get a huge infusion of oxygen after being attacked by activists and feminists some years ago.

Staying relevant

At the Adobe Summit in 2016, which this writer attended, Richard Dickson, the charismatic President of Mattel, described how Barbie was shamed for being over-thin, fair and pink, by moms who felt the doll was giving a wrong message to their kids. Dickson said, “We listened to moms and kids.”

Barbie became curvy. She came in sporty, short-haired versions, embraced diversity to fit into any culture. The dolls were made to reflect the complex world girls live in and see today. So Barbie was made available in 20 different skin tones, hair types, body types, and facial structures. She has also represented 40 nationalities.

Madhu Kishore, Business Head, Ultra Toys and Gifts Private Ltd, and a veteran in the toys industry in India, is filled with admiration for the way Barbie has been marketed in India. “When she came to India, she wore sarees here,” he points out. “The constant upgrades, changes and the localisation have kept the excitement alive ,” he says. Agrees Paul, “The longevity of Barbie has to do with the ability to customise the doll to what you want it to be. Long before personalisation was a thing, Barbie came with a range of outfits and accessories to express your creativity. So the dolls retained interest much longer than average.” Mattel’s commercial “Imagine the Possibilities” also played on every little girl — and her mom’s — aspirations, fuelling her success further. And true to the tagline, Mattel too has stretched possibilities controversially launching a hijab Barbie modelled on Olympic fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad.

Today, Barbie has truly forayed into the future with Mattel pumping her with artificial intelligence and virtual reality in order to converse with children.

More than a toy

As Madhu Kishore says, earlier, toys were just playthings. But today parents only buy toys if they contribute to overall child development. “As I see it, Barbie has moved from providing mere happiness to providing learning. Kids are learning about different cultures looking at Barbie,” he says.

Paul agrees: “One of the reasons for Barbie’s continued success is that the eco-system has long included movies which now are hugely available on YouTube. In essence, each video is an infomercial for the doll.”

Endless hours of programming draw today’s kids into the world of Barbie. “ Whereas in the past kids had to use their imagination to craft scenarios for Barbies, now they can do so passively through these stories,” she says.

In 2018, Barbie generated sales of over a billion dollars. Each year Mattel sells over 58 million Barbies across 150 countries. From being reviled for objectifying women to becoming the face of female empowerment, Barbie has managed to rewrite her destiny beautifully.

“By treating her as a brand and concept rather than a physical entity, Mattel has ensured Barbie’s 60th Happy Birthday,” sums up Paul.

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