International Business Oxford University Press Prof.
Rakesh Mohan Joshi
1 Chapter 14 Case Study
BARBIE FACES ISLAMIC DOLLS
Barbie, so named by ideator Ruth Handler after daughter Barbaras nickname, became the worlds most popular fashion doll. Handler found that young girls enjoyed playing out their dreams in adult roles when she saw her daughter Barbara playing with a paper doll and imagining it as a grown up. Most children s dolls available at that time represented infants. This gave rise to an idea of a teenage doll, Barbie. Handler co-founded Mattel, a Southern California toy company with her husband Elliot Handler, and spearheaded the introduction of the doll. Barbies physical appearance was modelled on the German Bild Lilli doll, a risqu gag gift for a man, based upon the cartoon character featured in the West German newspaper Bild Zeitung. Barbie made its debut in the American International Toy Fair in New York on 9 March, 1959. This date is also considered to be Barbies official birthday.
Barbie sells over 1 billion annually across 150 countries. It is estimated that three Barbie dolls are sold every second 1 . Although Barbie was positioned as the ultimate American girl, it was never manufactured in the US, primarily to avoid higher production costs. The first Barbie dolls were manufactured in J apan with their clothes hand-stitched by J apanese home-workers. In the first year of production, around 350,000 Barbie dolls were sold. The Mattel-owned four factories, two in China and one each in Malaysia and Indonesia 2 , produce over 100 million Barbie dolls a year. However, a number of other companies produced Barbie-licensed products.
The process of Barbie production is very complex, which includes shipping the dolls from one country to another for different processes. To illustrate, the United States ships the cardboard packaging, paint pigments, and moulds to manufacturing facilities in China that provides the factory space, labour, electricity, and cotton cloth for Barbie dresses. Taiwan refines the oil into ethylene for plastic pellets for Barbies body whereas J apan attaches the nylon hair. International shipping operations are carried out by Hong Kong-based managers.
1 Vintage Barbie Struts her Stuff , BBC News, 22 September, 2006 2 Ritz, Ashish, Introducing: Slave Barbie, available at http://ihscslnews.org/view_article.php?id=187, December, 2006; The Creation of a Barbie, available at http://www.lclark.edu/~soan221/97/Barbie5.html International Business Oxford University Press Prof. Rakesh Mohan Joshi 2 Barbie is a plastic vinyl doll with the figure of an adult woman whose full name is Barbie Millicent Robert. Initially, Barbie was marketed as a glamorous, physically developed teenage fashion model with a range of fashion accessories. With her hair in a ponytail, and dressed in a black and white stripped bathing suit and sunglasses, Barbie proved an instant and phenomenal marketing success among young girls. Barbie has had over 40 pets, including 21 dogs, 14 horses, 6 cats, parrot, chimpanzee, panda, lion cub, giraffe and a zebra. In response to consumer demand, in 1961, Mattel brought out Barbies ultimate accessory her boyfriend, the fashion conscious Ken (Figure A). Unlike other, baby-like dolls, Barbie did not teach nurturing. Barbie has no parents or offspring.
Figure A Barbie with her Boyfriend Ken
Over the years Barbie has become very popular among young girls. She has been the subject of numerous books and controversies, besides, being the star in her own movies. Young girls love Barbie because she continually evolves as girls change. Barbie remains paramount in the hearts and minds of girls and moms alike because she reflects the interests, activities, and aspirations of present-day girls. Barbie offers a way for girls to play out their dreams and fantasies in a way that International Business Oxford University Press Prof. Rakesh Mohan Joshi 3 is relevant to today s girls. She is also credited to have provided many young girls an alternative to restrictive fifties gender roles. She demonstrates girls that they can be anything they want to be a princess, a teacher, an Olympic athlete, a doctor, a pilot, or even astronaut. The doll became a role model for financial self-sufficiency, outfitted with career paraphernalia.
Barbies marketing strategy involved meticulous product customization to suit diverse cultures across the world. The dolls are customized to represent varied cultures, regions, and occasions (Figure B). It is estimated that since 1959, over a billion Barbie dolls representing over 45 nationalities and 80 occupations have been sold worldwide.
Irish Indian
International Business Oxford University Press Prof. Rakesh Mohan Joshi 4
Japanese African
German Chinese
Figure B:Barbies customization across world markets
International Business Oxford University Press Prof. Rakesh Mohan Joshi 5
The Chinese Barbie evokes the exotic Far East with a costume inspired by those of the Qing Dynasty. The Egyptian Barbie wears a serpent ornament with a stunning golden crown inspired by the royalty of ancient Egypt. The Moja Barbie perfectly reflects the grandeur of the African continent. Mattel has customized the Barbie doll for India as well by cladding her in the conventional sari and traditional jewellery especially designed to appeal to Indian masses.
Barbie dolls have also been designed to symbolize various festivals across the world. Indian Barbie symbolizes Diwali; Kwanzaa Barbie, the African-American celebrations kwanza, means the first fruit of the harvest; Carnival Barbie, the week-long joyous Brazilian celebrations of music, dance, sequins, and feathers at Rio de J aneiro; Chinese New-year Barbie, the ancient festival of Chinese New year beginning with the new moon on the first day of the year that ends the evening of the full moon on the 15 th day, called the Lantern festival, etc.
Barbie is also known as the most collectible doll in the world . Through the years, she has developed from a teenage fashion model to a trendsetter and fashion adventurer. The four major types of Barbie collectors include pink, silver, gold, and platinum label Barbies. Packaged in pink-trimmed boxes, Pink Label Barbies are widely available and not limited to production numbers. Silver Label Barbies, packaged in silver-trimmed boxes are only available at select retailers can be produced at only 50,000. Gold Label dolls are even more difficult to find as only 25,000 of each edition can be produced worldwide.
Despite Barbies diverse product portfolio, considerable competition has evolved fromnew dolls like the funky Bratz, the long-termUK rival Sindy, and Islamic dolls.
Barbies Criticism and the Islamic Market
In many countries, Barbies curvaceous body and revealing garments are perceived to promote sexuality and promiscuity. The standard size of the Barbie doll, 11.5 inches, corresponds to a real height of 5 feet 9 inches at 1/6 scale. Barbies vital statistics have been estimated at 36 inches (chest), 18 inches (waist), and 33 inches (hips). Barbie has been criticized for unrealistic body proportions and for promoting materialism associated with amassing cars, houses, and clothes. Girls tend to develop an inferiority complex, as they grow up, if they cant look exactly like Barbie. The desire to attain the physical appearance and lifestyle similar to Barbie has been International Business Oxford University Press Prof. Rakesh Mohan Joshi 6 termed as Barbie syndrome. Although pre-teen and adolescent females are more prone to the Barbie syndrome, it is applicable to any age group.
Barbie came under fire in Russia and was banned in 2002 because the doll was thought to awaken sexual impulses in the very young, and encourage consumerismamong Russian children 3 . The Commission for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, known as moral police or mutaween in Saudi Arabia, declared Barbie dolls a threat to morality and offensive to Islam 4 . Barbie was banned in Saudi Arabia 5 in 2003 as Saudi Arabias religious police found the J ewish Barbie dolls with their revealing clothes and shameful postures, accessories, and tools, as a symbol of the decadence of the West.
Dolls for the Islamic World
Product adaptation to cultural sensitivities is crucial to success in international markets. Mattel markets a Moroccan Barbie and collectors doll Leyla that represent Muslim women. Leylas elaborate costume and the backstory of being enslaved in the court of a Turkish sultan were intended to convey the tribulations of a popular Muslim character fromthe 1720s. However, Mattel s portrayal of the Middle Eastern Barbie as the stereotype of a belly dancer or a concubine hardly appealed to present-day Muslimcustomers.
A number of dolls have been launched for Islamic markets (Figure C) not only to fill the marketing void but also to offer Muslimgirls someone they can relate to. Therefore, most Muslim buyers identify more closely with Islamic dolls as one of them rather than with the stranger Barbie. Islamic dolls generally show young girls that the hijab (veil) is a normal part of a womans life. If the girls put scarves on their dolls when they are young, the parents believe it might be easier to do so for themselves in real life, when their time comes. Sometimes, it is difficult for girls to put on the hijab. They feel it is the end of their childhood. Muslimparents often prefer to buy Islamic dolls over Barbie as it expresses their way of life. Islamic dolls are conceptualized to be the role model for children in Islamic cultures, representing how most Muslimbuyer like their daughters to dress and behave.
3 Barbie is Banned from Russia, Without Love, The Observer, 24 November, 2002 4 Barbie Deemed Threat to Saudi Morality , USA Today, 10 September, 2003 5 Saudi Bans Female Doll Imports , Guardian, 18 December, 2003 International Business Oxford University Press Prof. Rakesh Mohan Joshi 7
Razanne (In-out) Fulla
Fig. C Dolls for the Islamic markets Islamic dolls launched in the market, include Sara from Iran, Fulla formSyria, Razanne by a Michigan-based US Company, Saghira fromMorocco, and Salma fromIndonesia International Business Oxford University Press Prof. Rakesh Mohan Joshi 8
Fulla
Conceptualised by a Damascus-based Syrian toy manufacturer, New Boy Toys, Fulla was aimed at children in Islamic markets across the world. The concept to bring out an Islamic doll evolved around 1999 and was carefully honed. Fullas creators have gone to great length to make her modest and conservative. It took fifty animators, artists, and psychologists eighteen months to design her face. Like any Western ad agency with a product or politician to sell, Fullas creators turned to focus groups to test their progress. The product development teamconsidered ten different faces before settling on the Fulla look: large brown eyes and long, coal-black hair streaked with auburn.
Fulla, alternative to Barbie for children in the Islamic countries, hit stores in late 2003. Within a couple of years of its launch, Fulla became the dream of every Arab girl and the hottest-selling doll in the Middle East. The product profile of Fulla and her accessories have grown manifold. Now there is a Singing Fulla and a Talking Fulla pushing a luggage cart with suitcases to hold the dozens of seasonal outfits that crowd their closets. The product catalogue runs to almost 80 pages and includes 150 Fulla-licensed items, ranging fromcameras to CD players to inflatable chairs and swimming pools. Girls fromBeirut to Bahrain carry Fulla umbrellas, wear Fulla watches, ride Fulla bicycles, and eat Fulla corn-flakes.
The name Fulla is derived from a fragrant jasmine flower found only in the Middle East. Like Barbie, she is 11 inch tall, but unlike Mattel s products, she is visibly less bosomy. There is no such thing as a single Arab look, but broader features and heavier figures are more the norm among Arab women. However, Fullas button nose, bow mouth, and svelte figure testify to the internationalization of Western standards of beauty, superceding indigenous ideas of beauty. Fullas complexion is olive compared to Barbies peaches-and-creamskin-tone, her hair is much thicker than Barbies blonde mane and her face is fuller than 6 that of the typical American, but otherwise she is much the same.
To make her more acceptable in Saudi Arabia, one of the richest and most conservative Islamic countries, she was initially dressed in a black abaya and headscarf, but without the veil most Saudi women wear. The manufacturer did not go to the extremes of covering the face of the little
6 Fulla- the Arab World s Barbie, Khaleej Times, 25 Nov., 2006 International Business Oxford University Press Prof. Rakesh Mohan Joshi 9 girl. Although, Fulla was dressed in a black abaya and headscarf for the Saudi market, it had no veil in other markets. For relatively liberal Islamic countries, such as Syria and Lebanon, Fulla has a white scarf and pastel coat making her outdoor clothes more colourful. Since Muslim women do not show much skin unlike their Western counterparts, Fullas shoulders are always covered and the skirt always falls below her knees. The carefully drawn marketing strategy could maintain the brand identity of a conservative girl rather than being just another doll trying to reflect Barbie.
The toy capitalizes on the Islamization of cultural life in the Arab world as evidenced in a heightened focus on dress and rituals. Like most Muslims in the Arab world, Fulla has two sets of clothes. Form-fitting, revealing outfits are sported at home, while items that cover the arms, legs, neck, and often the hair are donned in public (Figure C). This concept of two wardrobes and especially that of the conservative outdoor outfits is what mainly distinguishes the Arab dolls formtheir Western counterparts. Fullas clothes include cloaks and prayer outfits that conceal her long dark-brown hair. She also has her own prayer mat 7 , in pink felt.
With her two wardrobes, Fulla taps into the Arab Muslimmarket by combining religious identity with femininity. The skirts in Fullas home wardrobe may not rise north of the knee, but many of her tops are close fitting and brightly coloured. Nowadays, many Arab women sport these home outfits outdoors, topped with a scarf.
The brand personality of Fulla is designed to be loving, caring, honest, and respectful to her parents . She is honest and does not lie. Fulla has two friends, Yasmeen and Nada, as well a little brother and sister. Fulla has an older protective brother too. Fulla would never have a boyfriend unlike her Western counterpart, Barbie, as this is frowned upon in Islam.
Even the commercials for dolls in the Middle East are designed to represent Islamic values. For instance, in Saudi Arabia, Barbie is shown to offer her prayers as the sun rises, bake a cake to surprise her friend, or read a book at bedtime. Fulla is also depicted to be family-oriented promoting modest outfits. Commercials even promote, when you take your Fulla out of the house, dont forget her new spring abaya.
Barbie vs. Fulla
7 Barbie Hasn t a Prayer Against Devout Islamic Doll, The Sunday Times, 22 January2006 International Business Oxford University Press Prof. Rakesh Mohan Joshi 10
Barbie and Fulla offer contrasting role models (Figure D) to customers. Although both Barbie and Fulla have a wide range of costumes, jewellery, furniture and other accessories, the outdoors clothes of Fulla do not include swimwear or anything revealing. Besides, Fulla has a smaller chest, is skinnier compared to Barbies curves, large breasts and shapely legs. An average Barbie is designed to have blond hair, blue eyes, and fair skin whereas Fulla has dark hairs, brown eyes and olive skin. New Boy also introduced dolls with lighter hair and eyes, assuming they would be popular in Mediterranean regions where blue-eyed blonds are not unknown. However, both the dolls have been criticized for presenting the same unrealistic idea of beauty, a certain image for women to conformto.
Figure D Barbie and Fulla: contrasting role models
Fulla is differentiated from Barbie in terms of her lifestyle and appearance. Shopping, spending time with her friends, cooking, reading, and praying are Fullas favourite activities whereas International Business Oxford University Press Prof. Rakesh Mohan Joshi 11 Barbie has a wide range of hobbies and careers. Unlike Barbie, a perennial job-hopper for about last half a century, who has been everything froman astronaut to the US president, Fulla remains a traditional Arab woman, whose life revolves around the family, serving as a role model for Muslimgirls. Fulla has also been designed to be a doctor and a teacher, the two most respected careers in the Islamic world.
A large number of Fulla items are manufactured in the same Chinese factories that turn out Barbie and her related products. That s partly because the items are identical and partly because these factories meet the safety standards set by the United Arab Emirates, through which the Fulla line is distributed.
Other Dolls for the Islamic Markets
Dolls aimed at the Islamic markets also include Sara, Razanne, Saghira, and Salma. The Iranian doll Sara was introduced as an alternative to Barbie in 2002 by the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults, a government agency affiliated with the Ministry of Education. She has a brother Dara unlike Barbies boyfriend, Ken (Figure E). The dolls have a distinct eastern look complete with Iranian clothes. The siblings help each other to solve problems and turn to their loving parents for guidance. The children are supposed to be eight years old, young enough under the Islamic law for Sara to appear in public without a headscarf. But each model of Sara comes with a white scarf to cover her brown or black hair. In the first round of production, 100,000 dolls were made by a manufacturer in China.
International Business Oxford University Press Prof. Rakesh Mohan Joshi 12
Figure E Iranian doll Sara has a brother doll Dara unlike Barbies beau Ken
Razanne was created as an alternative to Barbie for American Muslim girls by Ammar and Sherrie Saadeh at their toy company NoorArt based in Livonia, Michigan, outside of Detroit. Razanne has long-sleeved dresses, a head scarf, and a not-so-buxom-bustline. Unlike Barbie, Razanne, with her modest dress and a removable hijab, exemplifies the virtues of a proper, young Muslimwoman, such as modesty, piety, and humility. Moreover, the doll is more than a toy. It is a tool for young Muslim girls to learn the value of things like education and religious piety instead of focusing on their bodies as the most significant aspect of their lives. Razanne has the body of a pre-teen. The doll comes in various types: fair-skinned blonde, olive-skinned with black hair, or black skin and black hair. Her aspirations represent a modern Muslim woman. Praying Razanne, who comes complete with a long hijab and a modest prayer gown, is aimed to attract Saudi Arabia and other Islamic markets. Theres In-Out Razanne (Figure C), whose wardrobe also includes a short, flowery dress she can wear inside the home, in view of the men in her family only 8 .
Saghira was created by a Moroccan manufacturer in 2005 06 and launched in J anuary 2007 in the Morocco market. She has a mix of both authentic traditional and Western attire, but her accessories, even if Western versions, are based on the articles usually found in Arabic and Muslimhouseholds. The dolls come both in veiled and unveiled models, the latter representing Saghira within her home or in a family environment. Each model has a different Arabic girl s
8 Muslim Doll Offers Modest Alternative to Barbie, CNN, 8 October, 2003 International Business Oxford University Press Prof. Rakesh Mohan Joshi 13 name: Amira (princess), Doaa (Prayer), Aya, Abir, Ahd, Shada, Nada, Dahab, Najma, Nour, Lina, etc.
Little Farah is designed to recite some most commonly used Islamic phrases (Fig.) in Arabic and English. For instance: welcome Assalamu; Alaikum peace be upon you ; Lets Begin Bismillah in the name of Allah; I promise Inshallah if Allah wills . An Indonesian businesswoman, Sukmawati Suryaman, created Salma 9 , which means peace in Arabic, targeted at young Muslim girls. The toy is marketed as the MuslimBarbie Doll on the net.
The worlds bestselling doll, Barbie, which enchanted little girls across the globe, is being elbowed off the toy shelves in the Middle East markets by Islamic playmates. The new dolls aimed at Islamic markets strive to create a character that parents and teachers want children to relate to. These represent that Muslim girls too have options, goals, and dreams and also the ability to realize them unlike the stereotype Barbie aimed at Muslimconsumers. Moreover, the surge in sales of Muslim girls toys, including the veiled dolls, comes amid new enthusiasm among Muslimwomen for wearing the veil 10 .
Questions:
1. Explore the secret of Barbies success that made it the dream-toy for girls across the world. 2. Sensitivity to culture is crucial to success in international markets. Evaluate Barbies product adaptation for different markets. 3. Barbie has been criticized for its curvaceous, unrealistic body and materialism, leading to controversies and its ban in some countries, such as Saudi Arabia and Russia. On the other hand, Islamic dolls are criticized for promoting gender stereotypes and restrictive roles. In your opinion, to what extent are such criticism and bans justified? 4. Despite adaptation to represent vast ethnic groups, nationalities, and occasions, Barbie dolls have been jostled out fromthe Islamic markets. Identify the key reasons. 5. In view of the fast-growing popularity of Islamic dolls among Muslimcustomers across the world, suggest a marketing plan to address the specific needs of the Islamic markets. Also evaluate the impact of suggested plan on the brand image of Barbie in other markets.
9 Barbie Inspires Modest, Muslim Alternative, Reuters, UK, 10 Oct, 2007 10 Barbie Looses out to Veiled Rival , BBC News, 12 t Jan., 2006
Information System Development Process: Proceedings of the IFIP WG8.1 Working Conference on Information System Development Process, Como, Italy, 1-3 September, 1993