Case Study #5: Barbie faces Islamic Dolls by Prof. Rakesh Mohan Joshi

Summary: Barbie is the most collectable doll in the world with its popularity among teenagers and children, but as a consumer have, we ever considered if Barbie as a product aligns with our values or is it subtly imposing a materialistic culture on our children. Does Barbie, teach in a covert way, on how an ideal teenager should look? should dress? should interact with her friends? This is a case study about a society dismissing a brand because the product does not align with its culture and a new brand with an almost similar product replaces it easily in the same market with a different branding strategy.

Case Details:

Barbie Millicent Robert, popularly known as Barbie is as a plastic vinyl doll marketed as a glamorous, physically developed teenage fashion model with a range of fashion accessories.

Criticism for Barbie Dolls:

• Barbie over the years has over 40 pets, including 21 dogs, 14 horses, 6 cats, parrots, chimpanzee, panda, lion cub, giraffe and zebra.
• Unlike other baby-like dolls Barbie’s parents George and Margaret Roberts dolls had never been issued in doll form until 2018 and her sibling Tutti was not issued since 1971.
• The desire to attain the physical appearance and lifestyle similar to Barbie has been termed as Barbie Syndrome, although pre-teen and adolescent females are more prone to Barbie Syndrome, it is applicable to any age group.
• In many countries, Barbie’s curvaceous body and revealing garments are perceived to promote sexuality and promiscuity. The standard size of the?Barbie doll, 11.5 inches, corresponds to a real height of 5 feet 9 inches at 1/6 scale. Barbie’s vital statistics have been estimated at 36 inches(chest), 18 inches (waist), and 33 inches (hips). A tough task for teenagers to maintain as they grow-up.
• Barbie was banned in Russia in 2002 because the doll was thought to awaken sexual impulses at a very young age and encourage consumerism among Russian children.
• Similarly, Mutaween in Saudi Arabia declared Barbie dolls as a threat to morality and offensive to Islam and was banned in Saudi in 2003.

Barbie Doll Market in the Middle East Captured by Syrian toy manufacturer, Fulla:

• Fulla’s creators had gone to great lengths to make her modest and conservative. It took fifty animators, artists, and psychologists eighteen months to design her face.
• The brand personality of Fulla is designed to be loving, caring, honest, and respectful to her?parents. Fulla has two friends, Yasmeen and Nada, as well a little?brother and sister.?Fulla has an older?protective brother?too.
• Unlike Barbie, who has been everything from an astronaut to the US president, Fulla remains a traditional Arab woman, whose life revolves around the family. Fulla has also been designed to be a doctor and a teacher, the two most respected careers in the Islamic world.

?Fulla arrived as an alternative to Barbie in Islamic Countries in 2003 and was an instant hit. By 2005, girls from Beirut to Bahrain carry Fulla umbrellas, wear Fulla watches, ride Fulla bicycles, and eat Fulla corn-flakes.

Key Takeaways

1)????? Product adaptation to cultural sensitivities is crucial to success in international markets.

2)????? Basics of branding and building a perception: Even the commercials for Fulla dolls in the Middle East were designed to represent Islamic values in other words Fulla is more than a 11 inch poly vinyl plastic doll it’s a representation of Islamic values.

3)????? Customers can force change in brands: Barbie made a slew of changes to its dolls post 2003, introducing diverse barbie, tall barbie, introducing barbie’s parents’ doll in 2018 etc.

4)????? Brand Responsibility: Barbie Syndrome is a coined term and depicts the impact a product can have on society and the responsibility that comes with the success of a product.