“#ThankYouHeroes,” says Barbie
For someone in her 60s, Barbie sure has aged gracefully.
There was a time when she represented unattainable beauty standards, bleach blond hair and white skin. Mattel has come a long way since then. From launching career Barbie, inspiring millions of girls around the world to aspire to become doctors, teachers, astronauts, and presidents, Mattel has launched yet another campaign in its continued efforts to reposition itself.
As a salute to the healthcare workers who worked day and night get the world out of the Covid pandemic, Mattel has launched 6 new Barbie dolls.
The dolls are modelled after prominent experts whose courage and hard work were instrumental in the fight against Covid — Dr Audrey Sue Cruz, Dr Jaqueline Goes de Jesus, Dr Kirby White, Professor Sarah Gilbert, Dr Chika Stacey Oriuwa and Amy O’Sullivan.
But from a marketing perspective, what does this campaign hope to achieve? Let’s deep dive and find out.
The Objective
There are 300+ Career Barbies. What is so special about these new ones? Is it just a stunt to stay relevant?
Sales of Barbie reached a 6-year high last year, with parents desperate to keep their kids occupied amid their work-from-home. And Mattel would want to continue this momentum even after the trauma of the pandemic fades from people’s memory. Hence, driving loyalty becomes crucial.
This means developing emotional bonds with the brand in the conssumer’s mind. One thing to note here is even though Barbies are for kids, the main decision makers and purchasers are their parents. The brand has to connect with them as much as their children.
Which is exactly where these heroes come in. What better way to connect with those who survived the pandemic than salute those who palliated their troubles?
Execution
Mattel also pledged to donate $5 for each eligible Barbie doctor, nurse and paramedic doll sold at Target to the First Responders Children’s Foundation (FRCF). This move will benefit the children of first responders — another connection that the brand is building with parents.
This is not the first time Mattel is saluting role models for girls and boys alike. Previously, Barbies have been modelled after the likes of Rosa Parks, Frida Kahlo and Naomi Osaka. But this is the first time scientists and professors who are not as well known as these eminent personalities are being inducted into the role-model program.
I wonder how the toys we played with in childhood, shape the adults that we become. What toys did you play with? And how have they shaped you?
