The Big Hubbub about Barbie – Why She’s So Popular | Dolls

A small doll, children can dress it, and she has the appearance of an adult. Who would ever know that this idea would become a huge hit for decades?  Ruth Handler, the creator of Barbie did.  What is the big hubbub about Barbie- why she’s so popular?   In 1959 Ruth Handler knew that her daughter wanted a doll that was life like, but adult like.  Up until then the three-dimensional dolls that were available were made to look like babies or small children.  Ruth Handler and her husband, a co-founder of Mattel toy company, made Barbie.  Mattel toys have continued to make her a success.  Barbie is not just popular with children but she has become one of the top collectables for doll collectors as well.  One of the main reasons for this is the first way, and primary way that Barbie was marketed, Barbie The Fashion Model. 

Many children are collectors.  Barbie offers children not only Barbie herself, but also an entire community of friends.  Of course then there is her line of fashion clothes.  For each new Barbie that enters the market there is a new line of clothes.  The children love to dress Barbie, (despite the fact this has been an ongoing frustration for little girls over the decades), and enter her, or rather their imaginary life. Little girls await the next Fashion Model Barbie to come out on the shelves and they scoop them away for their collections.  Collectors are in the stores just as fast. 

The fashion doll collectors have collected the vintage Barbie dolls starting in the early 1970s, soon after the classic “vintage” look dolls with their detailed high-quality fashions were no longer being produced. Mattel only produced the classic “vintage” dolls from 1959 to approximately 1966.  Mattel began to produce a newer, play oriented Barbie with a flashy look in the 1970s and 1980s. The look then was disco.  Barbie had big hair and a big smile (the along with shiny, glittery costumes.   Despite the fact that some collectors thought the quality was not as high, they were still purchasing as fast as the kids.  Collectors had to keep their Barbie’s in the big pink box to retain the value and appreciate their investment. 

Collectors were happy when Mattel produced a line aimed at collectors in the 1980s.  The first doll was a porcelain version of Barbie–the Porcelain Rhapsody in Blue Barbie in 1986. Then, in 1988, Mattel released the 1998 Happy Holiday Barbie doll–the doll that really put Barbie dolls aimed at adult collectors on the map. This doll was not produced in great numbers, but it became an immediate (and hard to get) hit. Today, this doll sells for over $500.    Mattel began to produce Happy Holiday dolls for collectors each year, as well as other collector Barbie dolls.

In 1994, Mattel produced a watershed doll, the 35th Anniversary Barbie doll, a reproduction of the original 1959 doll. Collectors clamored for this doll.  This was a Barbie doll collectors dream.   This promoted collection frenzy and collectors began to hoard their collector Barbie dolls. People couldn’t find collector Barbie dolls anywhere, except on the secondary market. Consequently, this made the market move.  Mattel increased production levels. When the dolls became too easy to find, hoarders gave up, and prices on the secondary market dropped to well below retail.   Mattel has understood the power behind marketing and despite their ups and downs; Barbie is probably the most marketed doll in history.

Barbie doll collectors have a big presence on the Internet. The Barbie doll collectors have forums and communities to help in their research and collecting. This networking has definitely helped create new collectors and encourage the existing collectors of Barbie dolls. The Internet also provides a place for sales and trade that would not have existed before. 

The Internet also provides additional marketing on Mattel’s behalf.  Barbie stars in movies, she has video games, her own book series, and she is even on the Internet.   This would be especially true on the Barbie website.  Children are able to interact with Barbie, play games and be a part of her world.  Barbie’s is a pop culture icon and she is as popular as ever.