Barbie Girl

Marketing isn’t just the selling of products and services; ideas, philosophies, thoughts, opinions and concepts also manage to fall under its expansive radar.

Like most girls, Barbie was a favourite toy of mine while I was growing up. An aspect of the Barbie doll I found likeable was how seamlessly she bounced from career to career: from a veterinarian to astronaut, chef to presidential candidate. She made it all look so easy! Now that I am older, I have realised the significance of Barbie’s impressive résumé–and it seems like Mattel has, too.

In early 2010, they launched their “I Can Be…” campaign, allowing girls across the globe to vote for the next career Barbie should tackle (news anchor and computer engineer came out on top). Mattel recently expanded this inspirational campaign with a new commercial, tapping into the huge segment of women who can fondly remember the days of playing with Barbie, and thus easily identify with its message. Barbie is a prime example of a company making good use of its brand equity to promote a worthy social cause, which in this case is female empowerment. While it is primarily a reminder to girls of their true potential–that they “can be anything”–it also wouldn’t hurt to sell a couple more Barbies.