Why Barbie Wants to Show Dads Playing Dolls With Their Daughters

Mattel eyes relevancy and inclusiveness

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After debuting Barbie’s new look in January 2016, the brand set its sights on another ambitious marketing push: Get consumers to like Barbie for more than just her looks. The marketers at Mattel wanted to shift consumers’ focus to Barbie’s purpose and get parents “to reappraise the role of Barbie in their world and to really see Barbie as a vehicle for storytelling and imagination,” explained Michelle Chidoni, Mattel’s vp of global brand communications.

While Barbie began working with BBDO in October 2015 to showcase the “imaginative possibilities,” as its

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This story first appeared in the March 13, 2017, issue of Adweek magazine. Click here to subscribe.