Jackie Prine, Emma West, Juliana Escalante, Natalie Mata, Nicole Escobar Barbie, or in full Barbara Millicent Roberts, is an 11-inch- (29-cm) tall plastic doll with the figure of an adult woman that I was introduced on March 9, 1959, by Mattel, Inc., a southern California toy company. & B ● Created by Ruth Handler who realized there was a gap in the market. ○ At the time, only infant-aged dolls for children to play with ○ A need for more mature aged dolls ● Inspired by the German doll, Bild Lilli ○ A doll initially created for adult consumers, but was mostly popular with children ● Handler created her own version and debuted it at the American International Toy Fair. ● First Barbie I ○ Wore a black and white zebra swimsuit with a topknot ponytail, available as either blonde or brunette ○ “Teenage Fashion Model” & B ● Subject of numerous controversies and lawsuits, often involving parodies of her lifestyle and inaccurate stereotypes ● Issues with ○ Body Image ○ Diversity ○ Bad Influence Concerns ○ Safety Concerns N S ● A 1966 babysitting Barbie brought a book to read while the baby slept; unfortunately, it was a diet book with one simple instruction: “Don’t Eat.” ● In 1992, it launched “Teen Talk Barbie” that said things like, “Math is tough,” and, “Let’s plan our dream wedding,” when you pushed a button. ● And in 2010, the company produced computer engineer Barbie that came with a storybook in which Barbie constantly crashes her computer and requires the help of her male friends, Brian and Steven, to help her accomplish the tasks. I & B ● The very first Barbies reinforced many of the stereotypes of women in the early ’60s. The doll was cast as a bride, a hostess, and as a guest at a red-carpet affair. ● Slowly Barbie started transitioning and changing with society. ● The company created an astronaut Barbie in 1965, four years before NASA’s moon mission and nearly two decades before the first American woman went into space. ● In 1969, they created Christie, a black doll designed to be Barbie’s friend. She was introduced as race riots began breaking out in the U.S. (South Asian, East Asian, and Latina dolls would come in the ’80s) ● They also created a Presidential Candidate Barbie almost every election year since 1992, a full 24 years before Hillary Clinton ran for president. "We want to remind the world what Barbie stands for. Founded by a female entrepreneur and mother in 1959, the Barbie brand has always represented the fact that women have choices. This ongoing initiative is designed to remind today's parents that through B the power of imagination, Barbie allows girls to explore their limitless potential." - Evelyn Mazzocco, global svp and general manager of Barbie. Oct. 2015 I P C W? The campaign ran in 2015 and was created by BBDO W? ● Came as a result of a study conducted at Oregon State University ○ Had 37 girls between ages 4-7 play with either a Barbie in a dress, a Barbie in a lab coat, or a Mrs. Potato Head doll ○ Showed the girls pictures of jobs & asked if girl or boy could do the job, girls with the Barbies thought that boys could do more jobs but girls with Mrs. Potato Head thought that girls could do more jobs ● Aimed to redirect the perception of Barbie from dolls that lowered the self-esteem of girls to one that focused on the creativity and self-expression T D G P C W? The campaign is currently running and was created by BBDO W? ● Children recognize cultural stereotypes ● Girls lose self-confidence in themselves and their dreams when they’re 5 ● Barbie wanted to draw awareness to the issue and create “ongoing global initiative that aims to give girls the resources and support they need to continue to believe that they can be anything.” ● The overall objective of the campaign was to make Barbie relevant in a world where girls are using technology from a young age. ● This push, along with product changes, hopes to empower young girls to career goals and combat stereotypes the brand has a history of reinforcing. ● Based on the notion that Millennial parents are more likely to A respond to brands that mean something. ● Barbie used the strategy of unscripted storytelling to build relationships with viewers and seem more authentic. ● Barbie wanted to improve their communication strategy by saying they are listening to moms and improving based on their input. Mattel outlined the five pillars they embrace in addressing the Dream Gap: 1. Raising awareness through impactful content 2. Showing girls more role models 3. Leveraging Barbie as a role model 4. Continuing to offer empowering products 5. Rallying partners around the world A A ● Imagine the Possibilities has 25 million views on Youtube and has been featured in many articles, including NYT and Forbes. ● Close The Dream Gap has 350 thousand views on Youtube. ● The #YouCanBeAnything and #CloseTheDreamGap went viral, with moms tweeting photos empowering their daughters. ● After the campaign in 2016, Barbie's sales were up 23% in the second quarter and 16% in the third. P R ● "The kids are adorable and the message was positive," even women who were Anti Barbie couldn’t argue with the message. ● Marks Barbie’s effort to move towards empowering girls to achieve their goals is a step forward from the previous marketing campaigns. ● When this is combined with the announcement that Mattel will feature Barbies of different figures and ethnicities, it shows that the company is attempting to combat and change the negative stereotype surrounding the famous doll. N R ● While the campaign received a large amount of praise, some critics did argue that the video reinforces gender roles by only showing girls-- boys play with dolls too. This highlights gender stereotypes. ● One critic said "It was like no adult took these girls seriously. If the girls were 'imagining' how they were perceived, how off-putting and sad.” ● Some people also still see the appearance of the dolls as an issue. “You Can Be Anything… as long as you’re beautiful.” Critics say those who do not resemble their image of Barbie dolls would not be able to escape from "Barbie" stereotype. ● The lack of technology Barbie has hurts their dying market. Children are more likely to play games on Ipads than with actual dolls. Steps in the right direction B, ● Could grow by representing different body types and shapes ● Potentially create dolls without makeup for those that believe Barbies are “too beautiful/perfect” C ● Create website or app based content that is accessed when a Barbie is purchased ● Break more gender stereotypes ● Continue to push image of Barbie as a role model or a figure of women empowerment rather than being just a doll 1- In your opinion, have the campaigns been effective in changing the impression of Barbie? 2- Do you think adding technological features would Q benefit the Barbie brand? 3- What do you think Barbie will do to continue to evolve with society? https://www.fastcompany.com/40503573/inside-barbies-fi ght-to-stay-relevant https://www.britannica.com/topic/Barbie https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/ad-day-girls-be come-professionals-ahead-their-time-barbies-cool-new-a d-167487/ https://barbie.mattel.com/en-us/about.html https://en.calameo.com/read/005137613a49f1b1ab893 S http://www.versiondaily.com/barbie-you-can-be-anything- ad-campaign/ https://www.brandchannel.com/2018/10/11/mattel-barbie- closes-dream-gap/ https://www.brandchannel.com/2015/10/09/mattel-barbie- imagine-100915/ https://barbie.mattel.com/en-us/about/dream-gap.html .