1.

Intro Barbies unrealistic body image

Everyones heard of Barbie, the toy that launched the fashion
doll industry, and Im sure played a huge role in many of our own
childhoods or those of our friends and family. However, the toy is
fading out in todays market due to many reasons, Ill attempt to
describe how Barbie came to be popular, the many downfalls and
disagreements with the product, and the ultimate failure of
Mattel corporation to keep up with the public demands.
2. How the doll came to be popular
a. March 9th, 1959, Barbie reached the shelves. She was
designed by Ruth Handler after she noticed that her
daughter Barbara would ignore baby dolls to play with
adult shaped paper dolls.
b. Based on a German doll named Lilli. The doll was originally
designed to be a joke gift that was to be given to older
men, however it soon became popular with children, and
Mattel bought the rights to the doll and made their own
version.
c. Mothers didn't approve of the sexy figure, so Mattel used
their advertising knowledge to override this by placing an
ad in an episode of Mickey Mouse Club and make children
demand their parents for the doll that Mattel believed
portrayed the ideal Western woman.
d. It became the first mass produced doll in the US with adult
features and within 3 months, stores were struggling to
keep her in stock.
e. The parents that did want to buy the dolls felt that she
didn't dress like the typical american teenagers involved in
protests and marijuana at the time, and that she could
provide a role model for their daughter as well as a way to
practice grooming habits.
f. At first, many of her careers seemed to challenge the roles
that women were stuck in in the 60s and 70s, but as it
developed it became clear that there was an underlying
meaning
3. Her many fails and problems
a. Barbies first few careers were "fashion model" "fashion
editor" "ballerina" "astronaut" "teacher" "singer" and "flight
attendant". These careers were acceptable for the women
of the era and the doll presented the careers in an
attractive light, having Barbie wear pink accessories or
heels to her jobs.
b. Barbie then went on to do more successful careers as the
role of women became more prominent in American
society, but there was an underlying theme of Barbie still

being inferior and not being able to do her job. For the
125th doll they allowed voting on what her job should be
and shes a computer engineer.... but she couldnt do her
job without the help of the men that also worked there.
c. In addition to specialty career dolls, Barbie did partnerships
with many companies as specialty dolls. Many of these,
however, caused controversy.
i. Oreo partnership offensive for obvious reasons
ii. Girl scout Barbie many people felt that Barbie was
an unrealistic and highly sexualized role model for
young girls, but girl scouts and Mattel stood by the
partnership
iii. Alfred Hitchcock although this was a collector doll,
many parents still disagreed that the company was
standing by a horror movie and encouraging kids to
want to watch it.
iv. Sea World went off the market for no particular
reason
Sea World Barbie was launched in 2012
Blackfish documentary unveiling the harsh
truths about Sea World was released 2 months
later
Sea World Barbie got a new job 2 years later
d. The company didnt learn from their failed partnerships,
and many of their independent collection dolls failed to
take off, or caused controversy among parents.
i. Sugar Daddy Ken Ken was presented as a pimp in
April of 2010, although the name supposedly refers
to Sugar the dog, Ken being his daddy, the
consumers raised their eyebrows, and mattel
responded the name is about the dog, people will
interpret it as they will
ii. Earring Magic Ken this toy was produced as more of
an adult toy, and it quickly flew off the shelves,
selling out in under three months. Although if you
want one now, Amazon has them for just $19. Mattel
recalled this one after numerous complaints about
the necklace, issuing the statement were not in the
business of putting cock rings into the hands of little
girls
iii. Share a smile Becky Barbies attempt at inclusion
until a customer with cerebral palsy pointed out that
Becky didnt fit through the door of the Barbie dream
house, and that her hair was too long and got caught
in the wheels of her wheelchair

iv. Teen talk Barbie This Barbie claimed many fun,

typical teenage girl statements. The one that got
her taken off the shelves: math is hard
v. Video Camera Barbie the fear of child pornography
quickly got this doll removed from any shelves.
vi. Slumber party Barbie scale set permanently at 110
pounds which would make her BMI 17 and make her
anorexic, her book gave advice on how to lose weight
with a simple solution of dont eat
4. Idea 3 fail of the company other options now
a. Sales are down for the third year in a row, facing pressure
from Disney dolls from the frozen movie and public
demands for more realistic dolls
b. Lammily dolls are on the rise, started by a graphic design
major as part of a project to show what real life dolls would
look like it was demanded by the public to become reality
and suddenly Lammily became a reality
c. Dolls with realistic proportions or a more heartwarming tale
behind them are taking over the doll industry causing
Barbie to decline in business
5. Conclusion
a. From the introduction of Barbie, the company made
headway in becoming the countries leading fashion doll,
pushing boundaries that hadnt been pushed before
b. As Barbie began to push the boundaries, she also began to
push some buttons, as the company began to make small
mistakes with their partnerships and career choices for the
doll
c. Because of these failed partnerships and careers, parents
and little girls began searching for their daughters dolls
elsewhere and the company began to fail.
d. Today, Barbie sits on the shelves among many other dolls,
and maybe one day soon it might not even be there