The most famous doll in the world reached 50 years in 2009 in an identity crisis and with a big falling on sales. Her lifestyle and slim silhouette – equivalent to a woman of 1.75m in height, 91.5 cm of bust, 45.7 cm of waist and 84 cm of hips – served as inspiration for hundreds of thousands of girls from all corners of the planet. Everyone wanted to be like her. At age 50, however, the blond doll of 28 cm already feels the weight of age. In the financial field, she was far from the phenomenon of the past. In 2008, her sales fell 9%, while the marketing of other dolls raised 11%, which was a direct result of the increasing competition and several strategic errors committed by Mattel. The main obstacle was the lack of agility to react to the arrival of more competitors tuned with the aspirations of the so-called Internet generation. An example of that is the success of Bratz, a teenager with big head and feet, platform heels and saucy pose. The character was quickly assimilated by adolescents who considered, in large measure, that Barbie was children play. The management of Mattel accused the coup.

They left aside the passive attitude and put in motion a real war operation. After all, Barbie alone represents 30% of Mattel total sales. Therefore, they created more deprived and ethnic versions of the doll, like the My Scene, and put the doll profile on MySpace and Facebook. They also launched a line of fashion dolls rather angry, inspired by hip-hop culture. The idea was to make this model a “version of combat” to stem the advance of her arch-rival. It did not work. Sales continued falling year after year. Without success in the marketing field, the management of Mattel changed tactics. They went for the courts against MGA, claiming that the designer Carter Bryant, father of the Bratz, had stolen the name and design of the doll collection of Mattel, when he worked there.

» Read more: Barbie – The Crisis of the 50s