Why the World Loves Barbie??

There's just something about Barbie. I've been posting about Barbie for a few months now, as I've been incredibly impressed with the crazy good marketing/advertising team and the entire rollout of the Barbie movie as well as their entire rebrand and collabs, World of Barbie and just about everything they've been doing recently. Here are my thoughts.

THE MOVIE ?? Let's talk about the Barbie Movie. From the trailers to the billboards (literally just hot pink, nothing else) it has been fascinating watching all the pieces come together. I remember first hearing about the cast, and thinking that it was perfect. Then as small details would come out, a little more each time, and photos would leak out, just like it was all timed perfectly- because it probably was. Like a well-oiled machine. Directed by Greta Gerwig BOOM! Margot Robbie BOOM! Ryan Gosling BOOM! Dua Lipa BOOM! Issa Rae BOOM! and on and on and on it went like that. Barbie is out in most theaters on July 21st. And I think most people literally cannot wait. Myself included.

THE PROMOS ?? All I have to say is wow. I don't even know where to start. How about the Barbie Self Generator where you can make yourself a Barbie. Way to get literally everyone involved in promoting the brand. It went viral very quickly. Within days people that you never thought would do it were doing it. All over Linkedin and other platforms. It was magical. And funny. And really cool. I have to add that I might be a little biased. My cousin Tony works for Mattel. He's a Director in the IT Department. But I was already a fan. But he did send my daughter a really cool box of fun Barbie stuff for her last birthday and whoa, she was impressed! The Barbie car. He got to see the real car! Cool stuff.

THE HISTORY ?? Did you know Barbie's full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts? She was named after the creator's daughter, and Ken was named after her son. Ruth Handler created the iconic doll after watching her daughter play with paper dolls that went to college and had careers. Quite a contrast from the baby dolls and housewife dolls that were sold at that time. She was inspired to make a doll that showed girls that they could be whatever they wanted to be. In 1959, Barbie made her debut. The doll sold for $3. At first it was a flop. She was determined to make her a success. Mattel sold 300,000 in the first year. Did I mention her husband was the founder of Mattel and she later became the president?

BARBIE AND ME ?? Growing up with Barbie, (Gen X) she was a symbol of empowerment- She was in charge. Ken was just arm candy. We didn't really worry much about unrealistic beauty standards back then, as it was considered rude to question things that were considered "just how things are" But growing up a curvy girl- I knew I didn't look like Barbie. I found out later in life that it didn't really matter. Fast forward to 2018 and I have a 3 year old girl. Yes, I got caught up in all the cancel culture hype and purposely did not buy my daughter Barbie. I held out on Disney too, as long as I could. Just because. But then, you know: Frozen happened. And her big sister loved it, so she loved it. Then who looks just like Elsa? Barbie. So you can guess the rest. But then I started to see what the brand had done over the years to be more inclusive. And the first Barbie I bought her (she had others) was a curvy blonde/brown-haired girl with vitiglio. Which is not exactly the skin condition I used to have (tinea versicolor) but similar. And we had a great conversation about how people come in all shapes sizes and colors, and how cool is it that Barbies are a reflection of that. She pointed out that the Barbie looked like me and that is why she loved it. It was such a great moment! From then on, the Barbies that she picked out were the ones that did not look like her (blonde, petite and Barbie-ish) her favorite one is in a wheelchair with the cutest brown hair. And she likes the ones with the less traditional jobs too.??

FUN FACTS ABOUT BARBIE??

this is not sponsored content, but hey I am totally open to that!