Girls Love to Torture Barbie
Researchers at the University of Bath in the U.K. have found that many 7-11 year old girls hate Barbie so much that they physically attack the doll.
A study of branding -- in the sense of marketing rather than burning a mark into flesh or plastic -- among middle school children finds that "young girls subject their Barbie dolls to torture, maiming and decapitation as a way of expressing their changing feelings about the doll."
For marketers, this is bad news (though perhaps not so bad as it is for poor Barbie herself).
According to Dr Agnes Nairn from the University of Bath’s School of Management, "Branding is clearly an engaging topic for children, but even by the age of 11 they do not share an adult’s understanding of brands, and their notion of branding may be far from that intended by marketers."
If there's a lesson here, it may be that there's such a thing as too much success. Having achieved the status of cultural icon, there's nowhere for Barbie to go but down.
But for every cloud there's a silver lining: Suddenly it seems there's a need for a whole new line of accessories for America's favorite doll: Barbie Bandages, Barbie Sutures, and Barbie Prosthetics.
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