Mattel Inc. Addressing the Component of Cultural Identity Among Essay

Mattel Inc. Addressing the Component of Cultural Identity Among Consumers - Essay Example Barbie the first venture of Mattel into the field of dolls was launched in 1959. Barbie was designed keeping in mind that young girls like giving the role of adults to their dolls. Mattel has been very successful in many European countries and the United States, due to its strategy of incorporating the cultural specification of these countries into its products. Its strategy of bringing variation in their products according to the philosophy, and biological traits of their consumers has made them the brand they are today (Mattel, 2011). Barbie is a brand that acknowledges the importance of cultural identity in the toy market. Biological traits for cultural acceptability have incorporated very carefully. Barbie, Mattel’s biggest and most recognized brand is very detailed in its design. The original Barbie was created to target young American girls, who wanted to grow up to be independent, beautiful women. Many parents initially had objections against playing with Barbie as many thought her physical attributes gave young girls a wrong idea about beauty. The fear was that girls might take thinness as the indicator of beauty. Consumers were worried about the wrong idea Barbie might give their children regarding the definition of beauty in their culture. Consumers who had African, Asian and other ethnic origins were also not very pleased with the physical attributes Barbie was given. Mattel counteracted these notions by coming up with Barbies that represented the culture and traditions of these specific countries. Thus, Indian, Mexican, Japanese, and African Barbies were created. These Barbies have different skin tones than the original Barbie; they are several shades darker than the original shade. The Japanese Barbie has a yellow skin color similar to the oriental skin tone. Many might point out the fact that the features of these dolls have not been changed. Only the skin tone and the clothes have been altered. By diversification of their products, Mattel accessed growing markets. (Grassel, 2011) Barbie now represents a mass- spectrum of culture to gain acceptability into the Latin American, Afro American, and Asian cultures. Barbie’s imaginary friend-circle has been very carefully designed. It is designed in such a way that young girls from all different cultures will feel included in the world of Barbie. Kayla was introduced in 1990. Her ethnic vagueness was done intentionally. She represents the Latina-young friend of Barbie. Kayla can make any young Latin American girl relate herself to Kayla’s style. The Barbie line for girls near their teens also has characters that show the importance of Hispanic and African culture in Mattel’s market segmentation. Including these characters in their doll collection gives Mattel access to consumers who hail from these cultures (Barbie, 1991). ‘Independent women are next-generation women’ is the philosophy Mattel reinforces with its product, Barbie. Girls from a very young age value their independence and dreams. The clothes and accessories donned by Barbie make the statement of her independence. She is a doctor, a nurse, an astronaut, and anything and everything she wants to be professionally. The commercials of Barbie also emphasize the abilities of women. ‘Women can be whatever they want to be’ is what Barbie wants to encourage in young girls.