Barbie Is Still Queen
Before I jump on the "what is wrong with Barbie" bandwagon, I have a few things to say. Loudly, to Mattel and the analysts. First of all, give the girl a break. She has been a top selling doll for fifty years. Fifty. Look closely around this site, devoted to dolls and doll collecting, and you will see history littered with dolls that didn’t last five years or a decade, much less ten years. Do you really think they will still be making Bratz dolls in 2050?
Barbie Still Sells Like Hot Cakes
Second, Mattel still sells a bazillion Barbies each year. Now, I know that is not a scientific number, but its true. And, most dolls (except, maybe, for the aforementioned Bratz dolls) would give their right arms to be able to have even a small percentage of Barbie’s sale numbers. They are astounding. And, sales-wise, Barbie is in a rarified air with very few other dolls in existence today, including the Bratz girls (From MGA) and the American Girls (also, incidentally, owned by Mattel).
Children Have Changed; Barbie Didn't Change Them
Also, Barbie can’t help it that children have changed. Little girls grow out of dolls much sooner than they did before, and they instead turn to video games, movies, and other types of electronic media. This is partially the fault of our media culture, and partly the fault of parents who give in and let little children consume what could be creative play time with electronic play time. However, it is not Barbie’s fault that children have changed into miniature adults by the time they are 7.
Yet, Her Sales Are In Decline
However, its undeniable that the bloom is off the pink rose, so to speak. Her sale numbers are declining, and even to me, a woman who has been obsessively devoted to Barbie since her childhood in the 1960s, Barbie lately seems so….boring. So….uninspired. So, the question remains: what can Mattel do to re-crown their plastic princess as the doll of the new millennia? Here are my ideas:
You Are Not Bratz
1. Stop chasing Bratz. You are Barbie. You are the queen. You can never re-claim your old glory by trying to be a Barbie/Bratz. Stop trying Bratz is what it is and you are what you are. Now, move on and improve yourself!
Barbie And The Electronic World
2. Barbie has always been best at presenting a miniaturized version of teen/adult life to children. So, go back to that! If kids (and adults) are all about electronics, embrace it. No, I don't mean by producing a Barbie-themed cell phone. What I mean is that you can theme Barbie to be relevant to electronics-addled kids. A Barbie with a realistic miniature computer and accessories (mouse, cds, keyboard, monitor) Video-game Barbie; co-brand it with Nintendo or Playstation, and make the console and games LOOK real. Any mom or career Barbie worth her salt needs a cell phone, laptop, and GPS system.
A Perfect Miniature World
3.OK, sure, Barbie has had some of these accessories in the past, but she hasn't been themed this way...and, more importantly, the accessories have been awful of late. Cheap plastic. Ugly pink and purple colors. This brings me to my next item...successful Barbie has always been about realistic clothing and realistic miniature accessories. That is what sold her in the 1960s. That even helped sell her in the 1990s (for goodness sake, go back to your archives Mattel and compare quality and the look of things). The WOW for Barbie has been about a quality, oh-wow-look-how-real little world. Bratz is slipping in the accessory area lately, here is your change. Also, the separately available clothes are pretty cheap looking lately. This should be fixed.
Stop The Pink and Purple!
4. Stop with the fantasy pink and purple, and fairies, mermaids, and all things three year old. Sure, little girls are outgrowing Barbie at earlier ages, but Mattel, you aren't helping things. Its now wonder that 7 years old see Barbie as a little girl's doll. Little girls don't care if their sparkly fairy is a Barbie or not; they just want a sparkly fairy.
Resculpt!
5. Resculpt. I think that you need to do several resculpts for Barbie, in several ethnic varieties. By this, I don't mean resculpting to make her have a bigger head.
