Barbie and Ken go Mad!
Good news for Mad Men fans – the show is about to officially enter into the realm of pop culture.
Mattel is cranking out versions of Barbie and Ken styled after four “Mad Men” characters: Joan Holloway, Roger Sterling, Don Draper and Betty Draper. These will be premium-priced dolls, part of a collectors’ series for adults.
The dolls will have the clothes, the look and the essence of swager, but they won’t be accessorized with the booze or the butts. Mattel is only willing to go so far in paralleling the characters. After all, they’ve got a multi-million brand to protect, and reinvigorate.
This is a leap for Mattel and the Barbie brand. The Mad Men-influenced dolls will be modeled after characters whose leanings are in stark contrast to Barbie’s wholesome image…
- Serial adulterers
- Big boozers, bordering on alcoholics
- Unmarried women having affairs
- Spewers of foul language
- Chain smokers
Same but different worlds
Barbie was launched in 1959, just a year before the Mad Men timeline began. Character Betty Draper is closest in line with Barbie’s image and the media’s presentation and positioning of women in the 50s and early 60s. From Mattel’s point of view, the other characters will clearly serve as visual representations of the early 60s, not as role models.
This licensing move serves two purposes. One, to give the Barbie brand a shot in the arm, and two, to launch the fourth, and probably last season of Mad Men.
Only approximately 10,000 likenesses of each doll will be produced, so if you’re looking for a future investment…
