Fifty years is a long time! Even longer in the toy business, but next week is a birthday party for everyone’s favorite Harley-Davidson doll, Barbie. She’s “more mature” these days and reflects the motorcycle company female demographics, but she is certainly not looking her age!
The motorcycle Barbie completes the rider image with an edgy black leather and orange flame ensemble accented with silvery chain, boots, helmet and sunglasses. You go girl!!
As you know Barbie (aka; Barbara Millicent Roberts) is a fashion doll manufactured by Mattel, Inc. But, you might not know that it was launched in March 1959 by American businesswoman Ruth Handler (1916-2002) who is credited with the creation of the doll using a German doll called Bild Lilli as her inspiration.
The command centre for the Barbie business global assault is about 10 minutes from LAX where 2,000 of Mattel’s worldwide 35,000 employees work in El Segundo. Barbie represents a little over 20% of the $6B in total sales and more of its profits. The 10th floor of the non-descript building is known as the “Barbie floor”, or by the workers as the ‘pink floor’.
Over the past fifty years Barbie has had numerous makeovers — Malibu, Princess, Southern Belle, along with the ever popular Harley-Davidson Barbie, to name just a few. She’s traveled the world by motorcycle and played guitar in a rock band. What can’t she do? Sure she started life as a fashion model, but Barbie has so far tackled more than 100 careers ranging from air stewardess to paleontologist, aerobics instructor to Marine Corps sergeant. One of her latest gig’s is television chef and she’s probably at home right now working on another blog post with Ken!
We’re all in this recession together and America loves a winner. So, if a boy can make it out of the slums of Mumbai and become an Oscar winner (“SlumDogs”) then maybe, just maybe, Barbie celebrating her 50th birthday and surviving previous recessions she will give us HOPE that we can make it out of this current mess.
Photo credit is courtesy of Mattel.
Northwest Harley Blog 
Hey Mac,
Great Blog! Along the lines of ‘Hot Barbies’ I’m hoping you can help me get the word out to Harley Women Drivers. I’m publishing a coffee-table type book that is profiling Women Riders. I need a broad cross-section of women riders…age, profession, socio-economic backgrounds, ethnicity, geographically diverse, to name a few.(BTW, I’m an award winning pro-portrait photographer and writer.)
In the pages of the book I will celebrate the beauty of Ordinary & Extraordinary…images and stories of women like your neighbor, or your hairstylist, the pastor’s wife, the rock-star, the L.A. plastic surgeon, the hotel maid, etc…. Women whose son has Downs, whose daughter just earned a Black-belt, whose husband was just deployed, whose significant other was diagnosed with cancer, whose child just had her first recital, whose mother is going back to college in her 60s,….who are ….and who have…and who do…the list goes on… From trailer park to penthouse we are part of the marrow of our culture, and we experience joys and sorrows indentifiable by people from every walk of life…and we all ride Harley motorcycles…the Grand Leveler, the Common Thread…
Anyway, if you think you could help me out by publishing this and my email address so that wmone can contact me, that would be great!
Thanks! And continued goodwork, Mac!
Krissie Mason
http://www.chickarazzi.com
krissie@chickarazzi.com
HI!
Hust wanted to know if you finished with The Harley Book. You took my picture and I worte a story on my heros last year which were my Mother and two grandmothers.
I am the Retried Federal Police Officer (T-LO) and the Military person who spoke to you in New Hampshire.
I just want to know so I can buy a couple of copies. Unfortunately, I been spending time with my aunt diagnosed with Breast Cancer. She is doing fine but spending time talking to her a lot. Just another stepping stone I have to go through in life. 🙂
Will wait for you answer. Have a nice day!
Terry