Barbie - The old gray hair is still a buxom blonde at 50

She’s the object of every girl’s dreams, the obsession of many collectors’ desire, and the bane of some activist’s existence.

But as Barbie approaches her 50th birthday on March 9th, there’s no denying that this iconic toy has changed the way little girls play and how a toy company markets her.


Somewhere in the world, a Barbie doll is sold every three seconds somewhere in the world. Mostly for little girls, but Mattel has noticed over the years a growing demographic of adult collectors who are buying her up from the toys stores as well.

This growing market place has caused Mattel to begin to market Barbie to a whole new demographic – adults who not only grew up with the iconic toy, but who are obsessed by her as well.

Mattel is marketing special Star Trek themed Barbie’s, life-sized Barbie fashions and a line of Barbie clothing, cosmetics, and even a printer which prints custom nail designs onto girls fingernails.

So, at 50, Barbie has never been bigger.

And even though it may be that the economic downturn may damper earnings figures, to survive nearly a half century of pop culture proves only that the future has never looked brighter for Barbie.