DOES MATTEL’S

ICONIC BARBIE DOLL

NEED A MAKEOVER
AKANKSHA SONI
ANUSREE DAMODARAN
NIVA P SAJI
SAJIN SALAM
 ABOUT MATTEL INC.
● Founders are Elliot Handler and his wife Ruth handler.

● Brand portfolios: Fisher-Price, American Girl, and Mattel brands

● Unique marketing strategies like advertising its toys through the popular television series The Mickey
Mouse Club.

● In 1950 idea originated of a doll that inspire young children to imagine the
possibilities of the future

● By 1959 a doll Barbara Millicent Roberts — more commonly known as Barbie —

was born with the philosophy, the little girl could be anything she wanted to be.
Barbie always represented the fact that a woman has choices.
 BARBIE’S GROWTH
● In the first year after the release, 300,000 Barbie dolls were sold

● By 2015, Barbie had been sold representing more than 150 careers

● Mattel acquired the rights to the competitor Bild Lilli doll in 1964.

● By 2009, Barbie merchandise represented more than 25 per cent of the U.S.

market share in dolls and accessories.

● More than just a doll barbie became a cultural icon

● the hit song “Barbie Girl” by the Danish music group Aqua solidified the

image of barbie.
 MAJOR THREATS & COMPETITORS
● Barbie’s sales dropped from $3.6 billion in 2000 to $1.0 by 2014, Even
though Mattel’s licensed products frozen and princess doll received a
huge success.
● Major competitors include Hasbro and LEGO
● Hasbro - core brand lines include Jenga, My Little Pony, and
Transformers.
● In 2014, LEGO was the best performer in the toys and games industry,
with annual growth of almost 16%.
● Rapidly changing consumer demands
 CONTROVERSIES
● The Barbie Body
-There were discussion around whether Barbie was an appropriate role model for
young girls.
-Barbies influence on the development of girls and young women
-Controversy regarding unrealistic body image - skinny, tall, and blonde. The
probability for a similar body shape to Barbie in real life was less than 0.001%.
● Barbie’s Intelligence
-Criticism on pre-recorded phrases and statements of teen talk barbie
-Concern voiced against eBook “Barbie: I Can Be a Computer Engineer”
The backlash resulted in Mattel discontinuing the book and issuing an apology
“ We believe girls should be empowered to understand that anything is possible and
believe they live in a world without limits.”
 CONTROVERSIES

● Privacy concerns on Video Girl Barbie and Hello barbie

○ The doll allowed children to record and share online up to 30

minutes of video: the FBI was concerned this doll could be
criminally used by predators

○ Hello Barbie, developed in partnership with ToyTalk, which

allowed children to have conversations with Barbie via cloud-based
software.
Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition

● In 2014, Barbie featured on the cover of the

Sports Illustrated annual swimsuit edition -
under constant criticism on her body image
Barbie was unapologetic
● The goal of the campaign is to empower fans to
engage and celebrate all that makes them who
they are.
 Importance of Strategic Change

● The Rise of Average barbie

○ Due to controversy in body shape, consumer interest in dolls with
realistic body proportions was increasing.

○ Lammily doll- 2014. She was shorter than Barbie, had brown hair,
wore minimal makeup, and had an average waistline.

○ Stickers that could be added to the doll to give it other realistic

features, such as freckles, scars, and cellulite.
Importance Of Strategic Change (Cont...)

● Shifting Retailers

-In the mid-2010s - Consumer attention was increasingly focusing

on gender stereotypes in the toy industry and on concerns around
gendered marketing

- Competitors like Target desegregate its toys and bedding

departments for boys’ and girls’ toy sections
Brand Identity
Model
- barbie growing beyond beauty
 BARBIE IN 2015: IMAGINING THE
POSSIBILITIES

● By 2015 Mattel was facing declining sales, strong competitors, and changing
trends in the industry, consumers, and retailers.
● The Barbie Fashionistas Line
○ Release in June 2015, comprising 23 new dolls that included several new
features-ankles were now movable, wear flat shoes etc
○ The new line included more racial diversity, including eight skin tones,
14 facial structures, 22 hairstyles, 23 hair colours, and 18 eye colours
 BARBIE IN 2015: IMAGINING THE POSSIBILITIES(Cont...)
● Barbie Moschino
○ November 2015, Italian fashion house Moschino and Barbie jointly launched a
limited-edition Barbie and sold out in 1 hour
○ Online advertisement for the product launch featured not only young girls playing
with the doll but also a young boy breaking the gender stereotypes
● The “Imagine the Possibilities” Viral Video
○ The Online advertisement in 2015 began by posing the question: What happens
when young girls are free to imagine they can be anything?
○ Ad went viral-viewed on YouTube almost 8 million times and was covered by
media outlets as The Huffington Post, AdAge.com, and The Daily Mail
SUGGESTIONS...
● Advertisement which promotes Barbie as brand
which empowers young boys and girls to be
confident no matter which ethnicity, race, body
shape they belong to.
● Including more career options in the Barbie Dolls, so
that they can cater to all segments of professions.
● Barbie should also widely experience racial
diversity with respect to clothing also.
● Mattel should break all the Gender Stereotypes
and promote racial diversity around the globe
in different countries.
● Also, to break stereotypes they can launch
Barbie dolls ranging from different ages
showing all life stages of women.
● They can launch Barbie dolls with high
customisations that promotes their existing
brand image.
THANK YOU. . .