Mattel countersued for $500 million, alleging Bratz’s creator worked for Mattel when he developed Bratz. In April 2005, MGA Entertainment sued Mattel, claiming “My Scene” Barbie dolls copied doe-eyed Bratz. Mattel feared competition by the bigger headed Bratz dolls with buggy eyes. In 2009, new management saw the video’s 29 million YouTube views, cleaned up the words for its website, keeping, "I’m a Barbie girl, in a Barbie world,” switching the risqué lyrics for “You can be a star, no matter who you are.”ġ7. I’m a blond bimbo girl…” Mattel took Aqua to court, but lost. The Danish-Norwegian dance group Aqua stole the doll’s life for their hit 1997 song: “I’m a Barbie girl in the Barbie world/Life is plastic, it’s fantastic/You can brush my hair, undress me everywhere. She was culturally appropriated, and she liked it. I challenge my friends and sisters to take a whole day and not say ‘Sorry.’” And in 2016 Barbie Fashionistas added four different body types with seven new skin tones.ġ6. Every time we say it, we take away from our self-confidence. “We say it a lot, like it’s a learned reflex, as if everything that goes wrong is our fault,” Barbie opined. Since 2015, the animated YouTube Barbie Vlogs discuss depression, bullying, careers in STEM, wisdom from Barbie mentors like Frida Kahlo and Misty Copeland, and the overuse of apologies by females. That same year, “Share a Smile Becky” came in a pink wheelchair that couldn’t fit in Barbie’s Dream House, elevator or Barbie’s vehicles, and her long hair got caught in the wheels.ġ5. Though Ruth, the victim of anti-Semitism, made black Barbies as a progressive statement, African-American communities complained “Oreo” was racist. In a faux pas, in 1997, Mattel and Nabisco made “Oreo Fun Barbie,” black and white dolls in jackets decorated with cookies and Oreo-shaped purses. Joe’s macho warrior enthused, “Let’s plan our dream wedding.” They put the modified dolls back on the shelves with the stickers “Call your local TV news,” to ensure press, which it did, in a 1994 parody on “The Simpsons.” Mattel withdrew the offensive phrases, offering a doll exchange to purchasers.ġ4. Joe’s so she proclaimed, “Eat lead, Cobra!” “Attack!” and “Vengeance is mine!” while G.I. They exchanged Barbies’ voice boxes with G.I. Annoyed that Teen Talk Barbie’s voice box said “Okay, meet me at the mall,” and “Math class is tough,” performance artists called the Barbie Liberation Organization (BLO), performed “surgery” on 300 Teen Talkers. She was ousted from her own company - until 20 years later, a female executive brought her back for Barbie promotions.ġ3. She was ordered to pay $57,000 in reparations and given five years probation, serving 500 hours on a charitable project. Ruth took the fall, not her husband, but swore she had no idea this had been going on. In 1978, Ruth and four other Mattel employees were charged with conspiracy, mail fraud and inflating financial sales records of the toymaker’s stock. Dumping her mate and children, Midge was revamped as single and child-free again.ġ1. After outraged parents feared she encouraged teenage pregnancy, she was discontinued (now $169 on eBay). Midge and Allen were reintroduced in a “Happy Family Line” where she was pregnant, with a magnetic detachable stomach that held a small baby inside. Midge was popular but lost favor to hipper dolls and disappeared in 1967. Allen, Ken’s buddy in 1964, saved Midge from being an eternal third wheel by becoming her steady guy. To counteract Barbie’s sexpot image, her freckled girlfriend Midge Hadley appeared in 1963. Her BFF had multiple personality disorder. By 1993, Barbie was doing $1 billion annual sales from 150 countries and 92% of American girls owned a Barbie, thanks to her affordable price (originally $3, now $10.) Soon Barbie had a 98% recognition rate - more than the American president or Queen of England.ġ0. Ruth changed the consumer from parent to child. That first year Mattel sold 350,000 dolls. Weekly ads created a constant demand, forcing retailers to stock Barbie year round, not just at Christmas. Presented as a real person, the doll fascinated 8-13-year-old females who pushed their moms to buy her. Ruth ensured the first Barbie TV commercial in 1959 was pitched to girls during the Mattel-sponsored “Mickey Mouse Club” TV show. Dichter even suggested enlarging her bust.ĥ. Moms saw the doll as cheap and vulgar while daughters wanted to be like Barbie: sexy and glamorous, with long legs and big breasts. Dichter interviewed 191 girls and 45 mothers. She consulted Ernest Dichter, a Viennese psychologist who analyzed consumer motivations to buy products. Watching her daughter play with grown-up paper dolls, Ruth was convinced doll play could be about a girl’s fantasies of adulthood.
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