Terrie Schaal

On March 9, 1959, Barbie came to life. Marketed to a pre-teen audience, it was one of the first toys to have a marketing strategy based on extensive television advertising. Barbie had an adult appearance and a trendsetting wardrobe. As the years passed, while Barbie never aged, her wardrobe changed to reflect the times. Barbie went from a homemaker to a secretary in the 1970’s, to a beach blond life guard in the 1980’s. During the 1990’s and early 2000’s, Barbie took on many careers and was targeted to a plethora of audiences ranging from little six year old girls to teenagers with a beauty pageant dream.

In 2001, Barbie changed dramatically when she and her cast mates Ken, Skipper, Malibu, etc. – all became anatomically correct dolls. This did not spark much of a controversy as advertising had changed. However in October 2011 – the controversial Tokidoki Barbie emerged and stores like Target refuse to sell her stating the doll “really isn’t appropriate for a six year old.” The Tokidoki Barbie comes complete with light pink dyed hair, fully tattooed chest, a skull design shirt – and once again is anatomically correct.

The marketing strategists are at odds, while one says “at the end of the day, the doll does not model behavior,” another states he “doesn’t think that a tattooed doll will necessarily motivate young children to run out and get tattoos when they turn 18.” The main debate is that Tokidoki Barbie’s tattoos are permanent. This is contrasted with an earlier incarnation, Stylin’ Barbie which came with removable tattoos. And then there is the Pink hair.

Sadly, most of the parents of the target audience have at one time or another played with a Barbie doll. In addition, 54 percent of the parents have either “gotten a tattoo, a body piercing in a place other than their earlobe, or dyed their hair a nontraditional color.”

Why is a tat-wearing pink-haired doll creating an uproar?

Graphic Credit:
Animationfactory.com