Most Successful Doll – Barbie

Barbie, introduced in 1959, is a fashion doll designed by Ruth Handler, an American inventor. In 1945 her Husband, Elliott Handler cofounded Mattel along with Harold Mattson. They merged their names to come up with the name Mattel (Matt from Mattson and El from Elliott.)

Barbie is not just a doll; it’s the central figure of a brand featuring various fashion dolls and accessories. For more than 60 years, Barbie has been a significant player in the fashion doll market. With over a billion sold, it’s Mattel’s most successful and profitable line of products.

Ruth Handler watched her daughter Barbara play with paper dolls and noticed that she often enjoyed giving them adult roles (as college students, cheerleaders, and adults with careers). Handler aspired to invent a doll that would better facilitate the way young girls were playing with their dolls. At the time, most children’s toy dolls were representations of infants.

During a family trip to Switzerland, Handler saw the German-made Bild Lilli doll in a Swiss shop and bought one. The Bild Lilli was made of hard plastic with moulded-on shoes, earrings and blonde hair in a ponytail. The doll was offered in a seven or eleven-inch size. Lilli doll was a collector’s item and not intended for sale to children.

Lilli inspired Ruth to design the Barbie doll.

Ruth knew exactly how she wanted her doll to look. With help from engineers and technicians at Mattel, she perfected her doll. A fashion designer was even hired to create her wardrobe.

The doll was given a new name, Barbie, after Handler’s daughter Barbara. The doll made its debut at the American International Toy Fair in New York City on March 9, 1959. This date is also used as Barbie’s official birthday.

Barbie’s first year on the market she helped set a new record for sales at Mattel. In that first year, 351,000 dolls were sold at $3.00 each. Mattel was overwhelmed by orders for Barbie and it took them several years to catch up.

The initial patent application for Barbie was submitted on July 24, 1959. Patent # 3,009,284 was officially approved on November 21, 1961, focusing on doll construction. This innovation allowed the doll to maintain a realistic and balanced stance when not being used.

Several more patents followed, including Patent # 3,277,601, granted on October 11, 1966. This patent revolved around Barbie having limbs that could be adjusted at different angles, enabling her to move more naturally.

Today Barbie is a cultural icon, the most popular fashion doll ever produced and the No. 1 fashion doll property. She has been joined by many other dolls including her younger sister and a boyfriend, Ken. More than 1 billion Barbie dolls have been sold and the annual sales for Barbie exceed $1.6 billion or 73% of the sales in its category, and about 27% of total revenue. More than 100 dolls are sold every minute and the average American girl between the age of 3 and 11 owns 8 Barbies. Barbie is sold in 150 countries worldwide.