You’ve come a Long Way . . . Barbie!
July 17, 2010
Barbie’s newest addition, Video Girl, is a Barbie doll, video camera and LCD screen in one! How cool is that? 
Mattel is showing the world that they are in tune with today’s “Barbie Girl.” She is into the digital and social media scene, and, of course, sports her signature, platinum hair. To stay in line with Barbie’s mission to promote different professions for girls, Barbie Video Girl is designed to get girls excited about a career in video production.
As a celebrity Foursquare user, Barbie will be using the location-based social media platform to help her navigate her travels across the U.S. Foursquare is a mobile marketing application that is gaining popularity as a social medium as well as a game.
Foursquare will steer participants on an innovative scavenger hunt from San Francisco to Los Angeles, Chicago and New York. This summer vacation promotion will officially begin on July 20, 2010. On-location tasks, such as checking in on Foursquare, will be part of the fun. Barbie will also use Twitter to tweet out text, photo and video clues. A winner in each city will be awarded a Barbie Video Girl doll.
By teaming up with two social media platforms, Foursquare and Twitter, Mattel is going to gain a lot of positive publicity. The dolls sell for $50 and can be used as an educational toy. I predict the Barbie Video Girl will be a top seller — just in time for the holidays. What do you think of this marketing initiative?
Tags: Barbie, Foursquare, location-based social media, Mattel, mobile marketing, social media, Twitter, Video Girl Barbie
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2010/07/19 at 4:48 am
Thanks for bringing our attention to what could be the next step in Barbie’s evolution from doll to world traveler! This actually sounds like an interesting product concept, yet at the same time also seems like quite an involved process. I’m interested in the doll for its social media lessons, but I wonder if young girls will be interested or able to follow Barbie on Twitter, Foursquare, etc. It seems as though so many toys these days require a lot of interaction and instructions. At a family dinner earlier today, my cousin brought her six month old baby who was forced to play with some hand-me-down toys. My cousin said she actually enjoyed playing with these older toys because they were much simpler than the toys available for youngsters these days. My how time changes things!