Fan Bingbing, the face of Barbie in China in 2014
Posted on 11/27/2014 8:37:08 AM PST by goldstategop
In 2013 Mattel brought Barbie back to the Chinese market. Only this time instead of clothes by Oscar De La Renta she had a violin and you could buy Barbie for the much more affordable price of $13 (£8.20).
This year there was another launch - a "specialty" Barbie doll in the likeness of Chinese actress Fan Bingbing.
Heralding the launch of the doll Mattel declared: "[Fan Bingbing's] collaboration with Barbie will give purpose and meaning to play and help ignite the spark inside girls across China to 'Shine Your Way'."
So it's clear that Barbie has learnt that to succeed in China today you have to have a sense of purpose, but then she didn't get the keys to the super-deluxe dreamhouse and the perfect boyfriend Ken by being just a pretty face.
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.com ...
Fan Bingbing, the face of Barbie in China in 2014
Balbie?
The most famous toy in the world, duh.
I wonder who her Chinese boyfriend is. :)
Bada Bing!
I would guess he looks a lot like this:
As Helen Wang wrote for the WSJ on China, the ideal of feminity is different than in the West:
"The magic of Barbie hasn’t played out nearly as much in China as in her homeland. Chinese culture is significantly different from that of America. As I wrote in another article, Why Barbie Stumbled in China and How She Could Re-invent Herself, Chinese believe that “feminine” is more about sweet and soft rather than smart and strong, more about being subdued and modest, rather than dazzling and fashionable. Without understanding this, it was no surprise that the House of Barbie closed its doors so soon after it opened in Shanghai."
In America, Barbie is a cultural phenomenon. In China, its just another toy. Mattel has caught on and at $13 USD, appears to have priced right for the local market. Fan Bingbing notwithstanding, it seems Chinese girls like an old fashioned Caucausian blonde Barbie. Some childhood dreams it seems, are truly universal, indeed.
Well, if Barbie does take off in China, Mattel will save a ton on shipping costs.
Amazingly enough, the name Ken still works.
China conquered him.
That would be the American ideal, too - explaining why just about all leftist feminists are unmarried, bitter, barren old maids.
Yeah. They always like the bad boys, right?
He had what, 27 concubines in secret?
Just another Emperor. Hiding behind egalitarian propaganda.
China’s infantacide of girl babies is well known,perhaps they should first try with the Chinese version of Ken.
Hey now, don’t hurt those hands. You need them for the turkey drumstick.
This doll was hard to purchase once the photos leaked out about this doll. American collectors were worried the doll wouldn’t be sold in the US. Secondary prices went through the roof. (See eBay ended auctions) Unknown to many collectors, Mattel later listed this very doll on Barbie.com site which is still listed there; priced around $40.00 / which that was just a huge let down to many who had already paid 4 times & up that much to get the doll. Mattel advertised the doll as being exclusive to the China market only. Somewhere they changed that.
I may bore people with this but it shows once again, how everything is affected in political overtones. Even toys.
There was a big media stir up about Barbie recently. It was truly foolish but shows how sensitive people are and move an agenda. Mattel caved into apologizing because a new Barbie that came with the idea of playing with a computer, while asking 2 friends for help to remove a computer virus. The two boy dolls are by made Mattel and those two are her friends; like school friends / college friends/ other dolls like professionals; a coach or athletic / it’s a normal family and friends scenario (some don’t like that because it’s a narrative of a all American family and their friends). Mattel has been attacked for years because Barbie has a clean image of a normal kid grows up to be a professional / marries. This particular doll portrays a young high school teen. Asking schools friends for help.
Anyway, these boy dolls have been in the Barbie family for years. Kids want the boy dolls to go with Barbie so years ago they added in more modern dolls to please the customer. Now, Ken doll has hundreds of molds (even armed services and great uniforms) which includes inexpensive play line dolls to more expensive collector line. Mattel, politically correct, made this apology because Barbie ask her friends who are boys for help; now will change that product to please those screaming Barbie can’t ask for help. Ask a boy! Same thing when the media criticized Mattel when a Talking Barbie would say, Math is too hard.
Stories about Barbie makes me think of the activists who want to stop this doll from being given to little girls. Same ones who strive to demand parents into not taking kids to McDonalds so the kids have a unhealthy meal. I played with the Barbie doll as a child. I never wanted to look like a toy doll. The ones who don’t like this doll do have some sort of issues and they continue this today. The doll is a toy for redressing in doll size fashions allowing a child to explore their imagination and creativity. The feminists do not want young girls to have these dolls. They are the very ones who made the fuss about the new computer doll and talking Barbie (years ago) which Mattel caved in on those 2 products. For Mattel’s credit, they don’t cave on everything, after all of these years.
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