‘We stopped looking into the future’: Mattel boss on how the toy maker reinvented Barbie
Dickson: “We created brand content money can’t buy”
Iconic US toy brand Mattel – manufacturer of the Barbie doll – went back to its roots as a creations company to re-engage children with short attention spans and their ambitious parents.
Mattel president and COO Richard Dickson told delegates at the Adobe Summit in Las Vegas that the 70-year-old toy manufacturer was forced into action after a revolution in children’s play saw it competing with media and technology companies. Viewed through the prism of child development, the brand’s product suite became outdated.
He said: “At some point we stopped looking into the future. The toy had become global intellectual property. You have to have play with purpose.”
What about we start a list here.
PEOPLE OR THINGS WE DONT WNAT TO HEAR ABOUT ONCE MORE THAN EVEY 5 YEARS.
Here’s a start:
1.Barbie
2 Harold Scruby and the pedestrian council
3 Any football until winter
Off you go…
I just want to express how comical I find it that this broad shouldered, square jawed, slicked back guy named–of all things–RICHARD DICKSON is in charge of Barbie.
………and the replacement for the Ken Barbie is, you guessed it : Wanker Barbie. There is also Full of Shit Barbie, and Lobotomy Barbie.