Barbie's appearance is characterized by her perfect, feminine, and pink looks. Although Ruth Handler is primarily responsible for the creation of Barbie and her image (Giacomin & Lubinski, 2023), there is also a large toy company behind it. This company is none other than the American toy manufacturing and entertainment company called Mattel (Mattel, 2024). This company was founded by Ruth Handler and her husband together with Harold Matson in Los Angeles in 1945 (Mattel,2014). While the company has launched several toys since its inception, such as the Magic 8-Ball, Barbie, which was launched in 1959, became its best-selling toy (IOANID et al., 2023 & Mattel,2024). With the help of a marketing strategy, the company has showcased Barbie in various adverts and built up her image (IOANID et al., 2023). The following is a compilation of various Barbie promotional videos from 1959 to 2021, starting with the very first promotional video ever released for the doll. What is notable in this video is that the song written for the advertisement is very much about the doll's appearance. Among other things, she was described as small and beautiful. Barbie's image was already built up in the first advertising video.
The Barbie doll was also the subject of changes and innovations. You can also see in the video that as time passes, the Barbie doll becomes more and more pink and girly. In most cases, you see Barbie in pink clothes and pink accessories. This was also a deliberate marketing decision by Mattel, as the doll was developed by the company as a "girls' toy" (Giacomin & Lubinski, 2023), and pink is considered a feminine color (Weisgram et al., 2014).
But Barbie's fascination with pink is not the only thing that Mattel has marketed. Her role as a role model was also highlighted by the company. For example, Barbie has had many different professions over the years (Coleman, 2023). In 1992 barbie even ran for president for the first time (Coleman, 2023). In summary, Barbie is not just a simple doll. Barbie is a cultural icon and a symbol of strength and empowerment (Giacomin & Lubinski, 2023 & Kennedy, 2023), which was brought to life by Ruth Handler and Mattel (Giacomin & Lubinski, 2023).