Friday, April 17, 2015

The Death of Barbie

Barbie's popularity is waning even if her price is increasing. If I were to think of a gimmick to promote Barbie, I would kill her first. Superman, the Lion from Narnia and Jean Grey all did it. I guess that is why Barbie is entering the superhero business, to die.

Imagine 5 years without Barbie. Trap her soul in the Cloud, no tangible toy, just some android game, like "Clash with the Clones" where she fights clone Barbie dolls who have taken over the world because they are more reasonably priced.

Barbie collectors will cherish all their dolls because they probably are going to be their last. The demand may build up. The dolls prices might increase in the secondary market knowing that there is no more supply. The amount people are willing to pay for a doll will increase.

And then she does a grand resurrection! Immaculate. Better than ever in all aspect--high fashion, better articulation, more durable with a god-like status.

OK, fine. Maybe it's no big deal if she remains dead.

2 comments:

Troy said...

Unfortunately, I think these days it is pretty much out of sight, out of mind for toys -- unlike superheroes. Jean Grey did stay dead quite a while before being resurrected, and she was constantly on the minds of fans. :-)

My personal take on giving play line Barbie new life is to have all of the dolls being fully articulated with more distinct characters in the line, much like Monster High, and similar price points. Make them fun again!

Niel said...

I agree with the out of sight thing that is why to keep Babs relevant, she has to be everywhere at all times. What better way to be everywhere than to be in the cloud, accessible through our fave gadget?

I'd like to think that I'm not the target market of Mattel. Kids are and it's hard for me to predict what kids wants or what is "fun" to them.

Yesterday I saw a kid playing with a baby doll app on her tablet. It got me thinking.

Maybe fun for kids is playing adults. Barbie banked on the idea when it debuted as the first adult doll for kids, so kids can pretend like adults through Barbie.

What better way to pretend like adults these days than tinkering with atech gadget? It's one common thing a lot of adults have, a gadget.