As an only child, Barbie inspired me to be imaginative. Leading the marketing for the Kim Kardashian: Hollywood game and encouraging players to live vicariously through virtual dolls revived my interest. I’m excited about collecting Barbie dolls again!
The Barbie Expo in Montreal is such a peaceful and fun place. However, the new book Barbie: Her Inspiration, History, and Legacy by Robin Gerber lets you admire the brand at home with more context. There’s an amazing archive to celebrate the 65th anniversary.
The book has a comprehensive overview of the brand’s evolution with beautiful photos of the original dolls, ads and Dreamhouse. It’s very up-to-date by highlighting the movie’s impact and sharing examples of Mattel’s commitment to diversity.
It’s fascinating how Ruth Handler hired Dr. Ernest Dichter and leveraged his psychology background to make it a household name. He ran the first focus groups ever! I love the 1960 advertorial about toymakers calling products “hot” back then.
The first Barbie doll was $3. You can barely buy a water bottle in the theatre for $3 today! It may not be a big deal now, but holding a doll with one hand seemed novel at launch. The first TV commercial aired on The Mickey Mouse Club years before the show turned Ryan Gosling into a movie star.
The chapter dedicated to Barbie’s career history is really interesting and Entrepreneur Barbie is one of many dolls that inspires girls to dream big. I definitely didn’t expect to see Toronto fashion bloggers the Beckerman Twins on page 108!
As I continue popping into toy stores (it counts as exercise!) I can’t help but notice they’re downsizing the doll sections, which is sad. I understand kids’ interests and habits are changing. However, Barbie really supports creative expression and reduces screen time.
There’s a forward-thinking quote from a collector who says “Barbie would live on even if she was discontinued because of secondary markets like eBay. She’ll always be around.”
It makes sense to critique Barbie as a cultural phenomenon, but I’m still obsessed. I hope this book preserves the legacy because Barbie offers so much joy!
Disclosure: I received a copy of the book for review. Thank you Hachette!
