The World's Number One Doll(a)|不朽的芭比传奇

by Brian Foden

Introduced to the world more than half a century ago, Barbie has become a cultural icon.

　　In the history of both toys and marketing, the enormous success of the Barbie doll is legendary. This popular plaything of little girls the world over has become such a cultural icon that it's hard to imagine a time when Barbie didn't exist. Her official birthday is March 9, 1959, the day the doll debuted at the American International Toy Fair in New York City. Interestingly enough, many of the buyers there weren't impressed with the doll. Also to note was the fact that Ruth Handler, the woman who came up with the idea for Barbie, had to work hard to convince the directors of Mattel, the company she co-founded with her husband, to take a chance on developing and promoting the toy.

　　Prior to her pitch to Mattel, Handler had noticed that her daughter Barbara liked to play with paper dolls and pretend they were adults. Most dolls made at that time were in the likeness of infants, not adults, so Handler's idea was somewhat innovative for its time. During a trip to Germany in the mid-1950s, she found more inspiration in a doll in the shape of a curvy woman. She bought a few of these German dolls, which were named Bild Lilli, to convince Mattel of the marketability of her idea.

　　Despite Mattel's initial reluctance to manufacture Barbies, the dolls soon proved to be immensely popular. Mattel used TV advertising effectively to market the doll, and it was among the first toy companies to use that method of promotion so extensively. The company's efforts succeeded in making Handler's creation the number one doll in the world, with more than one billion sold in over 150 countries.

 

不朽的芭比传奇

芭比娃娃推出超过半个世纪，她已经成为了流行文化的代表人物。

　　在玩具史及营销史上，极为成功的芭比娃娃都称得上是传奇。这种受全球小女孩欢迎的玩具已蔚为一种流行文化的代表，这是在芭比娃娃尚未问世时所无法想象的。芭比官方公布的生日是 1959 年的三月九日，这一天是这个娃娃首次于纽约市美国国际玩具展览会的会场上曝光。有趣的是，会场上的许多买家对芭比娃娃并没有留下很深刻的印象。另外值得一提的是，想出芭比娃娃这个点子的萝丝．韩德勒女士还得努力说服美泰公司的负责人冒险开发并推销这个玩具，而这家公司其实是由萝丝与她丈夫共同创办的。

　　在她游说美泰公司之前，韩德勒注意到她的女儿芭芭拉很喜欢玩纸娃娃，并佯装它们都是大人。当时生产的娃娃大部份都是婴儿模样，而不是成人模样，所以韩德勒的点子在那个年代算是有些创新。在一趟于 1950 年代中期展开的德国之旅中，她找到了更多的灵感，将娃娃套上曲线玲珑的女人外形。在这趟旅程中，她买了一些名为比尔德．莉莉（Bild Lilli）的德国娃娃，想要说服美泰公司接受这个点子的可销售性。

　　尽管美泰公司一开始并不太愿意生产芭比娃娃，但这个娃娃很快就被证实了是相当受欢迎的。美泰公司有效地运用电视广告来营销这个娃娃，而该公司也是最早运用这么大规模营销手法的玩具公司之一。该公司的努力成功地让韩德勒的作品成为了世界第一的娃娃，在全球一百五十多个国家中销售超过了十亿个的娃娃。