Watch: Barbie ad shows boy playing with dolls for first time
Barbie is breaking down gender barriers in a new ad campaign.
Mattel’s iconic doll has been in production since 1959 – but the ad for the latest iteration of the doll this week contained something brand new.
The 30-second ad for ‘Moschino Barbie’ – a partnership with the Italian luxury fashion house – hit screens this month.
Rather than just featuring girls playing with the newly-styled dolls, the ad makes a small gesture of acceptance by also showing a little boy.
The kid declares his Barbie doll to be “so fierce!”, before helping Barbie to answer her own miniature mobile phone.
It’s of course not the first time boys have played with Barbie dolls – or Earring Magic Ken, for that matter – but it’s thought to be the first time a boy has been seen in Mattel’s official ads.
The clip has had a warm reception online, with one commenter writing: “This almost made me cry! I used to play with my sister’s Barbies and felt such shame afterward. I’m so glad we can just let kids be kids. Thank you for this! Boys like dolls too!”
Another guy added: “As a Barbie collector, I just wanna THANK YOU SO MUCH for putting a boy in you commercial. This is seriously amazing. THANK YOU”.
However, some people weren’t happy.
One YouTube commenter wrote: “I’d kick my son’s ass. Gay is okay. Flaming is NOT.”
Barbie recently tried out a new androgynous punk look, when Mattel teamed up with a famed make-up artist for Paris Fashion Week
In one look, Barbie rocks a buzz cut, and in another her face is emblazoned with Swarovski crystals.
