The ad for Moschino Barbie on Moschino Official’s YouTube page, got influencers cooing.
Buzzfeed exclaimed, “People are losing their minds because for the first time in 56 years, the face of the brand is a little boy.”
Yahoo! Parenting raved about “Mattel’s inclusive move.”
More than 1 million people watched the video in two weeks.
They all thought it was a real ad. That was a cheesy, clichéd version of the ads that flooded kid-time TV in the 80s was overlooked.
It had a boy in it. Never mind his gelled-up Mohawk. Or his gush, “Moschino Barbie is so!!! fierce!!!.”
It had a half decent go at being racially inclusive (at least black and white are covered). There was even, “Fabulosity totally included”.
But it was a spoof.
It wasn’t meant to be be the key that turned around Barbie’s sales slump for the past 4 years. (Down 16% in 2014, with no signs of improvement visible on the horizon.) In fact, the Moschino doll costs US$150, which is not a sales incentive for the average – or even enlightened – mum and dad.
Or was it? Suddenly the world is paying attention to Barbie. And it’s not just because the brand has collaborated with Moschino.
Eventually, Mattel sent a statement to BBC News that the ad is a “fauxmercial”:
“This video parodies iconic Barbie commercials from the 1980’s starring a young [Moschino creative director] Jeremy Scott look alike. The video celebrates how boys and girls alike play with Barbie – it’s all about self-expression, fashion, imagination and storytelling.”
Mattel stated that it had made the commercial, but with Mr Scott calling the creative shots. The video is not hosted on Barbie’s YouTube channel.
Scott added, “When I dreamt up the concept for the Moschino Barbie fauxmercial, I felt it was natural to have a little boy representing for all the little boys like myself who played with Barbies growing up. Barbie was more than a toy, she was a muse for me.”
…And for how many more little girls after Scott made his dream come true.
