Barbie: A true inspiration
Barbie this year celebrates 60 years since its debut making her one of the longest living toys of the modern world
As young Communication and Media students attending Panteion University our team took on an assignment for our Ad Discovery and Creativity Lab course according to which we had to become ambassadors for a company of our choice and ‘’go backstage’’ to investigate the company’s marketing strategies and branding methods,its campaigns and projects and of course its history.
After a lot of research we came across a hot topic,Barbie’s most recently launched campaign to celebrate 60 years since its debut!This felt as if we had hit the jackpot since this is a company with both rich history but also an admirable marketing strategy through the years.Now let’s move on to the presentation of our research!
Barbie is arguably the world’s most popular doll and has sold millions of copies worldwide since its creation.It was introduced by Mattel’s co-founder Ruth Handler in the year 1959 and the idea was inspired by the German Bild Lilli doll,a comic strip character which was designed for adult audiences.The idea was emerged when Ruth realized that there was a need for adult-looking toys in the industry after having observed the games her children were playing.She noticed that children liked to play grown-ups but didn’t have the means to, since all the toys back in the day simulated toddlers.
From the very beginning Barbie was introduced with two different appearances,one as the blonde Barbie we all are familiar with and the other as a brunette Barbie with brown eyes.Ever since the company has released Barbie dolls in all shapes and sizes to promote diversity.The company’s biggest outbreak in the aspect of the fashion doll’s appearance was in 2016 when they launched a campaign with dolls that didn’t have the standard thin-waisted body type the original fashion doll has ,because of which the company had received decades of criticism,but instead these new dolls had bodies that reflected more closely on the real women's body types including a curvy version,a tall version and a petite version.
Starting from the company’s early years ,Barbie has launched dozens of collections where one could find the popular fashion doll carrying a great variety of professions counting from models to doctors,from police officers to presidents sending out the message to girls all over the world to dream big and never give up on their ambitions!Even the first astronaut Barbie was released 4 years prior to Neil Armstrong’s moon landing!
In addition, Barbie has released many remarkable campaigns and projects with the most recent being ‘’The Dream Gap’’ project which aims to close the gap of job opportunities between men and women , the ‘’Role Models’’ campaign with the hashtag #MoreRoleModels in celebration of the International Women’s Day and Barbie’s 60 year Anniversary and the ‘’Inspiring Women ‘’ series to promote more role models to young girls across the globe.
With the original fashion doll adapting throughout the years and the company’s approach constantly being improved to adjust to society’s and consumers’ needs and values, Barbie never stops moving forward and taking up new challenges in order to stay true to the company’s one true vision: ‘’To inspire the limitless potential in every girl’’.
Betty Tsakarestou Vasiliki Tassi Daphne Zacharia
Power Point Presentation and Sources:
