When I became a mother to two girls, I became acutely aware of the subtle message so many commercials and toys and clothes were sending to girls.
I’m a mom of 2 girls, and I am the CFO at Miller Ad Agency.
My mother started this company over 30 years ago. Growing up in the Advertising world, I’ve seen (and even cameo-ed in) a LOT of commercials. But when I became a mother to two girls, I became acutely aware of the subtle message so many commercials and toys and clothes were sending to girls.
Even today, in 2016, you will still find major advertisers subtly hinting that men make the money – women do the homemaking. Now, that is all fine and good for whoever chooses to run their household that way.
Women are free to do anything in America, including stay home and run the household, and I have many amazingly brilliant friends who choose to do just that. I’ll also be very proud of my girls if that is the path they choose to take. But in the photo-shop, Kardashian world we live in, I want to be very sure that they know girls can do ANYTHING.
Which is why I am so thrilled with Barbie’s new campaign.
As some of you may remember, Barbie ran into quite the controversy (rightly so, in my opinion), with their “Math is hard. Shopping’s fun!” talking Barbie. Good grief. Definitely not the message I want my daughters to hear. (Shopping IS fun, but so is math.) But they have worked hard to repair their reputation with their new campaign “Imagine the Possibilities”.
If you haven’t seen it, it shows young girls pretending to be professors, veterinarians, business women. Is this commercial for kids? No.
It is for the adults who buy the barbies. It is to convince us (especially moms) that Barbie is more than an impossibly tall, thin blonde who runs around after Ken. She is anything you want her to be.
Bravo Barbie.
You have won a fan back by listening to your customers, even if it took you a while.
