Approaching 50, Barbie to Undergo 'Sweeping Makeover'

We lost all faith in Barbie when in one mid-80’s version she professed to be astronaut (in a versatile hot pink and silver space suit) and then a few years later was exclaiming, “Math class is tough!” The venerable blonde of questionable quantitative skills turns 50 in 2009, and Mattel is celebrating—and hoping to revive slumping sales—with a redesign of all that is Barbie. The Wall Street Journal‘s Nicholas Casey has the details on “the sweeping makeover,” which will include everything from “revamping the corporate structure that oversees Barbie to changing the way the doll is photographed for ads.