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Reviving the Barbie brand has been a major priority for Mattel, who has seen her former target audience defect not only to Bratz, but also to flashier, high-tech items such as iPods and video games. The Barbie Girls music players, which can hold up to 120 MP3 or 240 WMA-file songs, come to market in July and will cost $59.99, Mattel said. "I think we've got a hit on our hands," said Reyne Rice, a New York-based toy trends expert at the Toy Industry Association. "You've got music, you've got fashion and you've got online—all these components tied into today's girls." At BarbieGirls.com, users can customize their characters' looks and styles. They can also go to the online mall and shop for clothes, accessories and furniture for their online room. Users can even adopt a pet. But more importantly, Rice added: "I think parents are going to like the safe online portal." To ensure girls' safety in public chats, Mattel devised a limited vocabulary of 2,000 words the girls can use on the site, designed to prevent use of sexual language, profanity or hurtful words such as "stupid" or "hate". Filters also prevent users from giving out personal information including names, phone numbers or even the cities where they live. Only in private chats with a "best friend" can a girl divulge personal information. Mattel said it ensures users are best friends by requiring one of them to physically connect their Barbie Girls MP3 player to a friend's computer. Each element of Barbie Girls—from safety to music—is designed to help Barbie win back market share from the brash Bratz line, said independent toy industry consultant Christopher Byrne. "After the implosion of Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears," said Byrne, "Barbie seems like this wholesome, wonderful thing now. Bratz really got a lot of momentum from tying into those people." |
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