https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPETP7-UfuI
The next generation of the fashion doll Barbie is coming in 2016. The American multinational toy company Mattel announced a dramatic makeover in their flagship product. Barbie will now be available in four different body types –petite, tall, curvy and original-, in seven different skin tones and in several eye colors and hair styles. Moreover, the new Barbies will have solid thighs instead of the thigh gap the original Barbie had. The company started revitalizing the brand in 2015 with the “you can be anything” campaign. The launching of a new, more realistic generation of Barbie dolls can be a new step towards this goal.
Changing their classic blonde, blue-eyed with model proportions doll to a more realistic doll is a bold move from the toy company. The new generation of Barbies is partly addressed to the so called “Millennial Moms”. “We were seeing that Millennials are driven by social justice and attracted to brands with purpose and values, and they didn’t see Barbie in this category” said Tania Missad, Mattel’s director of global brand insights. According to Missad, “compared to Baby Boomers and Gen X parents, Millennials are more likely to question institutions and harbor anti-consumerist sentiments.”
The brand has received many criticism in the last years because of its controversial influence and impact in young girls. The popular doll has body proportions often described as unrealistic, unreachable and unhealthy. Barbies can be seen as an inappropriate cultural icon of female beauty for young girls. Many “millennial moms” were not sure about purchasing Barbie dolls for their kids and that could have forced the toy company to change and revitalize their flagship product. Barbie’s demand and sales have been in decrease in the last quarters.
Even though it is a big update for Barbie, the brand has been criticized because of its lack of categories. Every woman is unique and categorize them in four body types cannot reflect that. In my opinion, it was about time that Barbie included different body shapes, heights and skin tones for its dolls. This is the biggest change in the brand since the first doll was launched in 1959. The brand needed an urgent renewal and some updates. Women’s body image, and the world in general, have changed a lot in the past 60 years, but Barbie had not. I hope more changes and updates will follow in the future.
I found this article very interesting. I used to think that Mattel was one of those companies not taking into account the effects their product could have on society. But after this big shift in their way of thinking, I feel that the company has realized, as you mention in your article, that they have to adapt to society’s changes of needs. People care more about values, so Mattel has to care about them as well. However, I would like to see from the company a proactive attitude the next time instead of a reactive one, as they have changed their product once their sales had gone down because of the values they were transmitting.