Sports Illustrated and Barbie share this: both keep being pilloried for creating unrealistic expectations of an ideal woman. So, they may as well do it together. It’s sure to create a lot of talk about, and for the benefit of, each of them. Barbie’s Sports Illustrated mantra and hashtag, Unapologetic, is probably going to be useless at quietening the whingers.
Does it help Barbie that Rihanna titled the album she released in November 2012, Unapologetic, and often uses the hashtag #Unapologetic? Among the whingers, let’s assume not.
“While the social campaigns are unrelated,” said Mattel spokeswoman, Michelle Chidoni, “they both embody similar messages.” [Whoa: ed]
Mattel approached Sports Illustrated eighteen months ago about a collaboration. “This program is about underscoring who you are, being unapologetic about who you are and celebrating that alongside all these great women and legends who are more than just pretty faces. While we are first and foremost a brand that talks to girls, Barbie’s an icon. She very much has a place in societal conversation as well — we’re always talking to multiple audiences,” stated Chidoni.
So, on February 18, Barbie will show off the striped black & white swimsuit she wore when she made her first public appearance in 1959 on the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover. It will reach about 17 million women.
Mattel insisted, “Barbie is a legend in her own right, with more than 150 careers and a brand valued at $3 billion. She is in great company with the other legends such as Heidi Klum and Christie Brinkley, to name a few.
“As a legend herself, and under criticism about her body and how she looks, posing in Sports Illustrated Swimsuit gives Barbie and her fellow legends an opportunity to own who they are, celebrate what they have done, and be unapologetic.”
…And was backed up by Sports Illustrated editor, M. J. Day: “From its earliest days, Swimsuit has delivered a message of empowerment, strength and beauty,” Swimsuit Editor M. J. Day said in a statement, “and we are delighted that Barbie is celebrating those core values in such a unique manner.”
Inside there will be a spread with 22 Barbies shot by sports photographer Walter Iooss Jr, who has been shooting the magazine’s swimsuit models for forty years. A cover wrap will appear on 1,000 copies of the issue, declaring Barbie to be ‘The Doll That Started It All’. The campaign launches with billboards in Times Square and a beach-themed party in Lower Manhattan. A Sports Illustrated limited edition Swimsuit Barbie will be sold exclusively on Target.com from late February. Editorial support includes behind-the-scenes videos about Barbie and what it takes to be a Sports Illustrated legend on Sports Illustrated’s Swim Daily site and sibling sites at Time Inc.
“This program is about underscoring who you are, being unapologetic about who you are and celebrating that alongside all these great women and legends who are more than just pretty faces,” said Mattel spokeswoman Michelle Chidoni.
“While we are first and foremost a brand that talks to girls, Barbie’s an icon,” Chidoni said. “She very much has a place in societal conversation as well — we’re always talking to multiple audiences.”
Barbie needs to widen her audience. Until late 2013, her sales had been falling every quarter since 2012: Her 12% fall in second quarter 2013 was the fourth straight tumble and she dropped another 13% in the fourth quarter of 2013. Barbie means a lot to Mattel. Its profits slid 24% to US$73,3m in second quarter 2013 but regained 16% in third quarter, when Barbie had a brief sales surge.
