C’mon Barbie lets go Party – Celebrating six decades of an icon

 

Pub quizzery data:

  • Barbie’s full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts.
  • Barbie was named after Ruth Handler’s daughter, Barbara. Her son was Kenneth.
  • She is from (fictional) Willows, Wisconsin where she attended High School.
  • Barbie doll’s official birthday is March 9, 1959 – the exact date she was unveiled to the toy industry during New York Toy Fair.
  • Barbie first appeared in the now-famous black-and-white striped swimsuit.
  • Barbie was joined by boyfriend Ken in 1961.

  • The first Barbie doll was sold for $3.00.
  • Barbie’s first commercial aired during Mikey Mouse Club in 1959.
  • Barbie doll’s signature color is Barbie™ Pink (PMS 219).
  • Barbie doll stands 11.5 inches tall.
  • The best-selling Barbie doll ever was 1992 Totally Hair™ doll, with hair from the top of her head to her toes.
  • In 1968, the first black doll was introduced to the line.

Cirriculum Vitae

  • Barbie doll has had over 200 inspirational careers including astronaut, robotics engineer, journalist and entrepreneur to name a few.
  • Barbie traveled into space in 1965, four years before man walked on the moon
  • Although she has never won an election, Barbie® has run for president 6 times since 1992. In 2016, she ran on the first all-female ticket.
  • In the 1970s, Barbie saved lives in the operating room as a Surgeon, at a time when few women were applying to medical school.
  • In the 1980s she took to the boardroom as “Day to Night” CEO Barbie, just as women began to break into the C-suite.
  • In the 1990s, Barbie ran for President, before any female candidate ever made it onto the presidential ballot.
  • In the 2000s, with only 24% of today’s STEM careers held by women, Barbie has been a Computer Engineer, Video Game Developer, Mars Explorer and Robotics Engineer, just to name a few.

Inspires and lends her style:

  • It takes a professional staff of top fashion designers, makeup artists and the most elite couturiers – more than 100 people in all – to create a Barbie doll and her fashions.
  • Barbie® has been a muse to many artists over the past six decades – including Andy Warhol and Peter Max.
  • Twiggy was the first celebrity to have a doll in her likeness.
  • Oscar de la Renta was the first designer collaboration in the 1980s.
  • The #1 honor from the Barbie brand is to be immortalized in plastic. The brand has honored role models from ages 6-99.
  • In 2014, Jeremy Scott’s Moschino show was inspired by Barbie, complete with her dream wardrobe.
  • In 1997, the hit song “Barbie Girl” by Aqua came on the scene.
  • Barbie has fans of all ages. The National Barbie Doll Collectors Convention has been driven by doll clubs across the country for over 25 years.

Number crunching

  • Barbie is the most popular fashion doll ever produced and the No. 1 fashion doll property in the US.
  • Barbie’s DreamHouse is sold every 2 minutes and was first introduced in 1962.
  • Barbie is the most diverse fashion doll on the market.
  • There are more than 100 dolls sold every minute, with a total of 58 million sold annually.
  • Barbie is sold in 150 countries worldwide.
  • Barbie has products in 45 categories, including food, fitness and clothing.
  • The brand has over 99% brand awareness globally.
  • Barbie’s YouTube channel has over 5 million subscribers, making Barbie the #1 girls brand on YouTube
  • Barbie has a powerful social media presence with over 14 million fans on Facebook, 263,000 followers on Twitter and over 1.2 million followers on Instagram (@Barbie).

On-screen, Online, On about everywhere

  • Barbie has over 30 entertainment titles released to date.
  • More than 151 million minutes of content has been watched on Barbie’s YouTube.
  • Barbie has a powerful social media presence with over 14 million fans on Facebook, 263,000 followers on Twitter and over 1.2 million followers on Instagram (@Barbie).
  • @barbiestyle launched in 2014 and quickly reached 1.9 million followers – it is one of the fastest growing fashion Instagram channels to date.
  • In 2015, Barbie launched her first video blog (vlog) on YouTube which propelled the channel to be the #1 girls brand on YouTube.
  • There is over 18 billion minutes of Barbie user generated content each year.

About Peter Jenkinson

Toyologist Pete Jenkinson regularly writes about toys in national newspapers like The Sun and The Mail. This super-dad has an unmatched passion and dedication for trying and testing the latest, coolest and most interesting offerings from the world of toys.

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