Barbie doll was inspired by Barbara Handler, the daughter of American businessman Ruth Handler. In the early 1950s, Barbara's mother, Ruth, noticed that her daughter and her friends liked playing with adult female dolls more than regular dolls. Until then, adult dolls were made only from cardboard. Ruth Handler decided to make a three-dimensional doll that is very close to reality.

Ruth's proposal, which conveyed the issue to the toy company Mattel, was not taken seriously by the all-male board of directors. Thereupon, Ruth went to Germany and bought "Lilli" dolls sold there. She made him a doll that looked like an adult and even hired a professional tailor to design his clothes. Seeing the doll in their hands, Mattel executives could not resist any longer and released the first Barbie dolls, named after Ruth's daughter, exactly 64 years ago, in 1959.

Barbie's First Failure and Breaking Point

Contrary to expectations after it was released, Barbie was not liked at all. In the face of this decline, one of its creators, Ruth Handler, began working with psychoanalyst Ernest Dichter, known as the manipulator. Dichter discovered a key point in her research: a change in the attitude of a mother who had previously been disapproving of Barbie; Seeing that her daughter admired Barbie's well-groomed appearance, the mother changed her mind about the toy. Why? Because in the 1950s, being well-groomed meant that a woman could be liked, and being liked meant that she could get married. In times when marriage was of critical importance, Barbie found the consumer's soft spot.

Barbie's First Success

Having found the consumer's soft spot with psychoanalyst Ernest Dichter, Barbie appeared in television commercials with a huge wedding dress. In this way, she conquered the hearts of men, mothers and girls at the same time and took the first step towards becoming a legend.

First Sales Record and Ken's Inclusion in the Game

Barbie sold 350,000 units in the first year. Thereupon, Ruth immediately launched the male model named after her son Ken and other friends and family of the Barbie world. These products brought great fame and fortune to the Mattel company in a short time.

Chronological View from Past to Present

Barbie dolls have become the subject of many social and political debates over the years. In 1967, in keeping with the changing egalitarian atmosphere of the period, the first black doll was released. In May 1997, Becky met with young people in her pink wheelchair. In September 2003, Saudi Arabia banned the sale of Barbie nationwide, stating that it did not comply with Islamic values. Tattooed Barbie models released in 2009 caused great controversy and were criticized by consumer associations on the grounds that they would encourage young people to get tattoos. Ruth Handler, the creator of Barbie, passed away in 2002. Mattel, of which Ruth was the president for a while, has a turnover of $6.2 billion and an annual net profit of $770 million. Today, Fisher Price has become the world's largest toy manufacturer with its Barbie, Hot Wheels and Matchbox brands.

How Did Barbie Suddenly Become the Whole Agenda?

The Barbie movie, starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, directed by Greta Gerwig, and released on July 21, 2023, created an incredible agenda. The marketing strategy underlying this is; Dressing like the famous toy "Barbie" became a trend after March, when fashion giant Valentino hosted a fashion show during Paris Fashion Week, where all its guests appeared in bright pink outfits. The trend, called "Barbiecore", turned into a craze when stars such as Anne Hathaway, Gigi Hadid, Beyonce, Dua Lipa and Megan Fox attended events wearing completely pink. Users started to share their Barbie-inspired styles on the social media platform TikTok.

Trending on Social Media Agenda

More than 15 million views were made with the "Barbiecore" tag on TikTok. Just before the movie, events related to the movie were held in thousands of cities and dozens of countries. Celebrities, micro and macro influencers and brand owners were invited to these events. In a statement, marketing platform LTK reported that they saw a 194% increase in Barbie-related purchases. Searches for pink items on the shopping platform Etsy increased by 35% compared to last year, and searches on Google increased by 390% compared to last month.

One Question on Mind
After watching the movie, Barbie boxes were placed in the cinemas for the audience to get inside and take photos... This brought a brand to our mind; Toys”R”Us… meaning “Toys Are Us”…