Mattel has announced Super Sparkle, a new superhero Barbie that the toy maker hopes will “inspire girls.”
The Barbie brand and I have never been friends. Even considering Mattel’s occasional efforts to make the doll line a more positive force for young girls, there’s just something about it that’s always rubbed me the wrong way. Maybe it’s just its commitment to the world’s most disgusting shades of pink. Sincerely, what is it with toy makers and having to wrap “girl toys” in the most putrid colors ever devised? Are they part of a conspiracy or something to gradually destroy the vision of the world’s female population with overloads of pastel?
Whatever shenanigans Mattel and its cohorts are up to, there are a few things I can think of that might make up for it. Standing tall at the top of the list? Giving Barbie superpowers.
According to a recent reveal at the Nuremberg Toy Fair, that’s exactly what’s going to happen. The product of a magical butterfly kiss, Barbie’s new alter-ego Super Sparkle will be able to tap into super strength and flight abilities to fight crime and “inspire girls.” That, at least, is the hope of Lori Pantel, vice president of global brand marketing for the Barbie brand. “The world of superheroes has historically been tailored to boys where the good guys beat the bad guys,” said Pantel. “But we know that girls, too, enjoy empowered heroes but seek an outcome where the perceived bad characters transform to good and friendship is the lasting result. We thought it was time they were inspired by a new superhero that is playful, has extraordinary abilities and also uses her powers of forgiveness and friendship to defeat her foe – in a way that only Barbie can.”
While I’m still not a fan of all the pink (it exists in more subtle tones guys), I will say that I appreciate the sentiments behind Super Sparkle. Granted, not all of the Mattel’s female friendly Barbies have worked out perfectly in the past. That said, you have to at least give the company some credit for trying. Barbie fans interested in buying the new Super Sparkle doll will be able to find it in stores beginning in February.
Source: Huffington Post
