The world was caught by surprise when Mattel, along with their new “original” Barbie, unveiled three additional Barbies endowed and emphasized in places other than just: Boobs.
Never in 57 years have they considered a:
- petite
- curvy
- tall
Barbie—complete with styles of dress and hairstyle resembling today.
Call it good marketing, considering the many celebs, other notables, and “regular” women serving as walking billboards of newly socially accepted, revered (and even desired) body parts and pluses that are the total antithesis of the “Barbie” look of old, Mattel did what was attractive, necessary, and “normal”: Put out new Barbie’s with body types and styles of most all women today.
To put out yet, another basic, original busty, long-haired blonde Barbie in 2016 is so 2½
half centuries ago and somebody on Mattel’s team got with the program-knowing some fits are going to be thrown and making dolls like such was such a risk (given the monotonous style, shape and form things have always gone and been sold.
On the flip side of that, therein lies the problem.
Although the Barbie brand is a global symbol adorned with a mere $10 price tag that does an annual $1 billion dollars in sales with 92% of American girls ages 3-12 all having owned a Barbie; doing the same thing and expecting different results (in business) often times isn’t insanity-it’s usually were the results come from. But then there are times (in business) when doing the same thing and expecting different does become ‘insane’ and indeed it did for the blonde bombshell dollmaker.
As times changed and other body types became accepted as “normal” or revered and desired as “beautiful” things had to change over at Mattel when sales plummeted 20% from 2012-2014 and continued to do so through 2015 so, entre vous 3 additional Barbie body types (27 in total).
Although Barbie knows they are going out on a limb with these new Barbies, they are giving it a whirl. For complaints and outcries, they have already set in place-a separate hotline to deal with complaints.
Alongside the original, the new dolls went on sale January 28.
My guess (and suggestion-if I were on the Mattel team): sell them like home printer ink makers now sell ink.
No longer can we buy just the black ink cartridges-it’s a package deal: you have to buy all the other colors as well.
Related: See all 27 new Barbies
Perhaps, instead of selling them [quote] “alongside” [end quote] the original Barbie, like ink cartridges, how about making all the girls’ (3 body types) along with Barbie a #Squadgoals package deal Mattel?
