How Barbie became a Pop Icon transcending generations
Barbie, the teenage fashion model, was created by Ruth Handler , the co-founder of the toy manufacturing company Mattel Inc. It was inspired by a German fashion doll, Bild Lilli ; a doll based on a character known as "a symbol of sex and pornography for the men of Germany". First edition of brunette Barbie doll in zebra striped swim suit from 1959 Barbie debuted on 9th March 1959 at the American International Toy Fair and was a "crashing bomb," according to the New York Times. Sears, then a retail giant with the power to make or break a toy, refused to stock Barbie. A then-unprecedented $12,000 market-research test also found mothers hating the doll, even though girls loved her. But Barbie proved everyone wrong. In the first year of its launch girls snapped up 351,000 Barbie dolls at $3 apiece, making the doll a smash hit. The unmatched success of Barbie is attributed to it's unique and innovative market...