COP2 Practical brief : Barbie research.

COP2.
PRACTICAL BRIEF.
BARBIE RESEARCH.

PACKAGING.

Today I went down to my local tesco which sells children toys and found a number of Barbie's in store. I wanted to try and get a feel of the visual which barbie produces through the packaging.
I took pictures of a lot of the different models I saw.

Here the Barbie box has quite a lot of information on the back concerning the products inside, such as what there is, warnings, what the Barbie does and other pieces of information. The main piece of information (seen inside the box with heart) reads Barbie and friends, however the information is written in 8 different languages. The Barbie website can be seen linked on the back of the box this can be read in 12 different languages. I think that in order to make my packaging appropriate and be able to fit everything I want on the back of the box, it should be mostly visual based so that I wouldn't have to worry about listing languages. However their will be a reference to where abouts the toy is sold through a map. 

I noticed that some of the boxes were very well themed, the box below for the 'style barbie' has been designed to look like the doll is on front of the magazine cover. This fits well with the function of the barbie, inside is a 10 page fashion book. 

The Potty training Blissa Barbie, is also a box which is themed. Instead of just sitting inside a box, The barbie is inside her house, making the box almost seem like part of her home, the place in which she potty trains Blissa. By creating the box design so it looks like a location which Barbie is present in, the doll is given more purpose. 

Although there were earlier boxes, such as the first I saw which seem to have a lot of information on the back such as warnings and doll features in lots of different languages. This box has a very simple back, in which only pictures are used to describe the products inside the box. This is much simpler for a child of the age who plays with Barbie's to understand. I think for my project as it won't be a purchasable toy for children, I do not have to include information such as warnings, etc but instead focus on the purpose of Barbie, what she does, and why she is doing this.   

I found another Barbie which has adhered to the changes in culture, Here Barbie is seen with a set of coloured pattern strips which children are able to put onto Barbie's hair and change the colour and look. They do this by treating the strips like transfer tattoos, wetting them clipping them against the hair and then pressing them together with a straightener like tool. This could lead to young children wanting to change the colour or appearance of their hair at a young age, by using these tools on Barbie's hair, such as the piece with the straightener aesthetic, they may want to do it to there own. Children are becoming younger and younger by the time they begin using appliances such as these, and the product below is helping to accelerate this process. 

Again the back of the box shows images of what Barbie looks like when following the instructions. There is also a large amount of information on the back of this box in terms of product information and warnings. However this is probably due to the purpose of the toy and the items which are inside the box. 

I also noticed that the sides of the box are very well tended to and not left plain, These are used to further distinguish and promote the very large brand. 

55 YEARS OF BARBIE:

I had stated that I wanted to put a booklet inside that celebrated the '55 years of Barbie' and pick one Barbie for the timeline from approximately every decade until now since the Barbie was first realeased in 1959.

First Barbie 1959:

The first Barbie was released in 1959 by Ruth Handler, whom wanted to create a doll with a grown woman's aesthetic for her daughter whom at the time only had dolls who were babies. The birth of The Barbie brand was at this very time, where in the commercial the words 'Someday I’m gonna be, exactly like you. Till then I know just what I’ll do. Barbie, beautiful Barbie, I’ll make believe that I am you.' were sung, making it appear that unless one looked like Barbie, one wasn't beautiful. 

Barbie 1964 Swirl Ponytail:

The newer 1964 Barbie now featured a more tanned complexion and lighter, straighter blonde hair. 

Barbie 1968 Christie:

In 1968 Barbie released the first coloured Barbie which was named 'Christie'. However she still had the exact same facial features as the caucasian Barbie, meaning that it was not an accurate depiction of what a coloured Barbie should look like. 

Barbie 1992 Teen talk Barbie:

In 1992 Teen talk Barbie was released whom spoke a number of different phrases such as 'Wanna have a pizza party?', 'I love shopping' and 'Will I ever have enough clothes?' There were 270 phrases put together for the Barbie and a few were selected for each doll, meaning that the dolls appeared very much individual. One of the phrases spoken was 'Math is hard'. Many people complained about this including the American association of University women, and so the dolls production was stopped and anyone with this Barbie was offered a swap for another.  

Barbie 1997 Oreo Barbie:

In 1997 Oreo Barbie was released, Oreo Barbie was supposed to be a doll which girls could play with after school whilst enjoying 'America's favourite cookie', the Oreo. However what Mattel did not consider was that the term Oreo is a derogatory term for a woman who is Black on the outside and white on the inside, because of this the doll was very much unsuccessful.

Barbie 2009 Totally tattoos Barbie:

Totally Stylin' Tattoos Barbie was released in 2009, Girls could not only apply a range of tattoos to their dolls, but due to the items which came with the Barbie, were able to put them on themselves as well. However the Chief executive of customer focus argued against the production of the doll remarking that Girls may want to get tattoos themselves.

Ending with Barbie 2014.

Barbie 2014 released for the 55th anniversary of Barbie, does everything a modern day girl would do with the ability to use her new possessions such as her Mobile phone, tablet and laptop with wifi. She Texts her friends, Takes selfies, video calls her boyfriend Ken and orders clothes online. She also has other accessories such as her standardised house, which can be folded down into a box, and taken with her wherever she travels! 

CELEBRATION AND ANNIVERSARY BARBIES:

I noticed that looking at most of the anniversary Barbies, the boxes are quite plain and are basically used to house the Barbie and nothing else. That was until the release of the 50th anniversary Barbie released 5 years ago in which is a nod to the very first Barbie released in 1959. The box takes on a very vintage and retro aesthetic, and also includes newly designed fashion items for the old doll. 

However one thing that I noticed was occurrent throughout all the box designs was the use of metallic foil across all boxes as they were a special celebration. This is something I should consider for my box and the celebration of 55 years.