'Barbie: the Early History by Erica Wolf Essay\r'

'Do you know anyone who has their accept dream house, super gambling pool house, pink convertible, or their own wizardly musical movies? No, I’m non talking about Paris Hilton or Lindsay Lohan, This girl is more(prenominal) classic, and more of a role model to every(prenominal) little girl around the world. She’s a fun, outgoing character with an outfit for every occasion. She’s Barbie. Today we allow learn about this astounding biddy and the affect she has had on toy industry. graduation exercise we entrust examine the pink and perfect memoir of Barbie, then we will try on the more a(prenominal) several(p personnel casualtyicate) characters in Barbie’s family, and finally we will shoot down the shelves to examine the marketing of Barbie merchandise.\r\nFirst we will examine the pink and perfect history of Barbie. Barbie was commencement ceremony introduced at the the Statesn International Toy clean in New York in February of 1959 accord ing to â€Å"Barbie: The primordial History” by Erica Wolf pass updated in 2000. Ruth and Elliot private instructor, the creators of Barbie, modeled her after the German doll known as â€Å"Lilli.” Ruth observe Lilli while shopping in Switzerland and brought her home for her missy to play with. This inspired Ruth to create an expectant(p) doll do specifically for little girls. carriage eventually had Jack Ryan, an executive of Mattel, purchase the rights for Lilli and authorise a deal with the company to create a doll similar to Lilli. The new doll would amaze a more â€Å"soft” look and didn’t look as made up with composing as Lilli. Finally, in 1958, the new doll, Barbie Millicent Roberts (named after Handler’s daughter, Barbara) was born.\r\nAt 11 ½ inches tall, debuted as a teenage model in a vague and white striped blowming suit that came with sunglasses, high-heeled shoes, and notes colored hoop earrings. The body was shapel y with a movable head, arms, and legs. Barbie would be the prototypic doll in America with an adult- similar body. Though Barbie was thought to be a huge success, some people in America had a terrible reaction toward this new phenomenon. many female adults frowned upon her mature body figure. Mothers said they would not allow their daughters to play with Barbie because of her very grown up figure. The doll quickly caught the attention of little girls crossways the country. Soon, the small, sophisticated doll became a worldwide sensation, and cadaver the top fashion doll straight off.\r\nNext, I am going to talk about the many polar characters of Barbie. Including some of her friends, the varied types of Barbies throughout the old age, and the many outfits of Barbie. During the first decade of Barbie in the 60’s, t present were themes that went with Barbie. such as â€Å"Barbie Goes to College â€Å". In 1961, Ken was introduced. He wore swim trunks and an unbuttoned shirt, and came with blond, brown or grim tomentum. Alternative clothes included a leghorn’s outfit, a college student look and routine ensembles for picnics or movies. According to â€Å"Barbies of the 60s” by Amanda Hermes remainder updated in 2013, in 1963 Mattel released Barbie’s best friend, Midge, who had brunette blur and wore a sleek red swimsuit and red heels. Barbie’s little sister, Skipper, appe ard in 1964, along with her own boyfriend, Allan.\r\nA year later, Barbie’s family grew to include gibe Tutti and Todd followed by her more modern cousin, Francie, who also came in Japanese and African American versions. Christie, the first African American friend of Barbie’s, came along in 1968. In Barbie raspberry History, there support been numerous types of Barbies made since she was first introduced. With a r ar exception here and there, Barbie’s body hasn’t changed much. Some whitethorn have more moveable part s, but the sizing and shape remains the same. Her face however, is a different story. Vintage Barbies were made from 1959 to 1966. Vintage Barbies made from 1967 to 1973 be considered to be Mod Barbies. One of the most storied dolls in this era was Malibu Barbie. She represented a miscue in Barbie’s evolution. She was made from 1971 to 1977.\r\nThe next big shift in Barbie Doll History happened in 1977, when in the era of the Halter Dress and Farrah Fawcett pilus; Barbie underwent a dramatic transition in the plaster bandage of Superstar Barbie. Barbie’s were made with the big toothy smile and tons of long blonde hair for the rest of the 1970s, all of the 1980s and a braggy part of the 90s. Well-known designers such as tag Mackie created many of the early collectible Barbie Dolls. One of Barbie’s first transformations after so many years with the Superstar face was with the â€Å"Mackie Face.”\r\nIn 2000, Mattel introduced the Fashion regulate Col lection, also known a Silkstones. They use the time of origin Barbie face and have been very successful with Barbie collectors. Barbie has undergone many changes and a lot of diversity over the last ten years. Now a variety of different skin tones, hair colors and face sculpts are used. Mattel released a series of twelve Black cross off Basic Barbie Dolls, the next step in Barbie Doll History, each featuring different types of Barbie face sculpt.\r\nFinally, we will hit the shelves to examine the marketing of Barbie merchandise. Every second 2.5 Barbie dolls are sold. This contributes to sales of more than $1.5 billion U.S. annually, making Mattel’s Barbie the most successful doll in history. Today, women have active lifestyles, balancing career and home activities creating a very different taste in doll buyers. Mattel first failed to realize the importance of this shift in 2001 when MGA Entertainment released their Bratz dolls, a doll with personality and side for the new generation of girls.\r\nMattel is still suffering today due to the invention of Bratz dolls. Not only did Mattel not recognize these threats, they also thought it unwise to view as major changes to Barbie; afraid consumers might not like the changes. It was too late when they finally realized that not changing the look of Barbie would be a frightful idea. In 2006, sales had dropped 30% despite rush changes being made to Barbie’s figure, looks, boyfriends and clothing. They also introduced their own new line of modern dolls called â€Å"My Scene” girls. It was unambiguous to consumers that this was an imitation of the Bratz dolls, so it never matched popularity.\r\n'