The original Barbie was launched in March 1959
Ruth Handler watched her daughter Barbara play with paper dolls, and noticed that she often enjoyed giving them adult roles. At the time, most children's toy dolls were representations of infants. Realizing that there could be a gap in the market, Handler suggested the idea of an adult-bodied doll to her husband Elliot, a co-founder of the
Mattel toy company. He was unenthusiastic about the idea, as were Mattel's directors.
During a trip to
Europe in 1956 with her children Barbara and Kenneth, Ruth Handler came across a
German toy doll called
Bild Lilli.
[1] The adult-figured doll was exactly what Handler had in mind, so she purchased three of them. She gave one to her daughter and took the others back to Mattel. The Lilli doll was based on a popular character appearing in a
comic strip drawn by Reinhard Beuthin for the newspaper
Die Bild-Zeitung. Lilli was a blonde bombshell, a working girl who knew what she wanted and was not above using men to get it. The Lilli doll was first sold in Germany in 1955, and although it was initially sold to adults, it became popular with children who enjoyed dressing her up in outfits that were available separately.
Mattel acquired the rights to the
Bild Lilli doll in 1964 and production of Lilli was stopped. The first Barbie doll wore a black and white
zebra striped swimsuit and signature topknot
ponytail, and was available as either a
blonde or
brunette. The doll was marketed as a "Teen-age Fashion Model," with her clothes created by Mattel fashion designer Charlotte Johnson. The first Barbie dolls were manufactured in
Japan, with their clothes hand-stitched by Japanese
homeworkers. Around 350,000 Barbie dolls were sold during the first year of production.
Ruth Handler believed that it was important for Barbie to have an adult appearance, and early
market research showed that some parents were unhappy about the doll's chest, which had distinct breasts. Barbie's appearance has been changed many times, most notably in 1971 when the doll's eyes were adjusted to look forwards rather than having the demure sideways glance of the original model.
Barbie was one of the first toys to have a marketing strategy based extensively on television
advertising, which has been copied widely by other toys. It is estimated that over a billion Barbie dolls have been sold worldwide in over 150 countries, with Mattel claiming that three Barbie dolls are sold every second.
[2]The standard range of Barbie dolls and related accessories are manufactured to approximately
1/6 scale, which is also known as
playscale.
[3] The standard dolls are aproximately 11 1/2 inches tall.
Barbie products include not only the range of dolls with their clothes and accessories, but also a large range of Barbie branded goods such as books, apparel, cosmetics and
video games. Barbie has appeared in a
series of animated films and is a supporting character in
Toy Story 2 and
Toy Story 3.
