Barbie

What: Mattel is giving Barbie a make-over. In an effort to refresh the brand, which has seen sinking profits of late, Barbie will be given new clothes and even new dance movies (really). Already, Canadian designer David Dixon showed off a spring collection of Barbie-inspired duds at LG Fashion Week in Toronto. And now, fans of the doll can see her dance away in a new music video, which features choreography by JaQuel Knight (he did Beyonce’s famous “Single Ladies” routine). The new line of dolls are called Barbie “Fashionistas,” and they’ll have extra movable joints so they can be put in a variety of poses - just imagine a little girl strutting Barbie down the runway.

What They Say:

The video debuts three of the new Barbie(R) Fashionistas dolls - “Sassy,” “Cutie” and “Artsy” - and features a cameo from “Hottie” Ken(R). “The Barbie” dance is comprised of doll-like moves that can be performed to any song and ends with a signature Point, Twist, Snap. These fun and catchy easy-to-do dance grooves are already showing signs of being the next big North American dance craze.

What We Say: “Project Runway” has already motivated many of today’s youth to pursue careers in the fashion industry - whether designing or modeling. But Barbie Fashionistas won’t. There’s nothing updated or novel about the clothes, and besides a little more movement, there’s nothing all that interesting about the dolls - nearly all of them are white, pencil thin, with long blond hair.

Thoughts?