The Upcoming
  • Cinema & Tv
    • Movie reviews
    • Film festivals
      • Berlin
      • Tribeca
      • Sundance London
      • Cannes
      • Locarno
      • Venice
      • London
      • Toronto
    • Show reviews
  • Music
    • Live music
  • Food & Drinks
    • News & Features
    • Restaurant & bar reviews
    • Interviews & Recipes
  • Theatre
  • Art
  • Travel & Lifestyle
  • Literature
  • Fashion & Beauty
    • Accessories
    • Beauty
    • News & Features
    • Shopping & Trends
    • Tips & How-tos
    • Fashion weeks
      • London Fashion Week
      • London Fashion Week Men’s
      • New York Fashion Week
      • Milan Fashion Week
      • Paris Fashion Week
      • Haute Couture
  • Join us
    • Editorial unit
    • Our writers
    • Join the team
    • Join the mailing list
    • Support us
    • Contact us
  • Competitions
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • YouTube

  • RSS

Fashion & BeautyNews & Features

The new Barbie advert tells girls “you can be anything”

The new Barbie advert tells girls “you can be anything”
16 November 2015
The editorial unit
Avatar
The editorial unit
16 November 2015

Mattel’s new Barbie advert, Imagine the Possibilities, enforces the message to young girls that they can be anything.

The ad shows a collection of young girls taking on the roles of adult professionals. With hidden cameras capturing the unsuspecting audience’s reactions, the advert sparks smiles among spectators and TV viewers alike.

Just as Barbie can be an air hostess, an astronaut, and a doctor, so too can the girls who play with her. The girls take on the job roles of lecturer, football coach, veterinarian, museum tour guide and business woman, spreading the message that imagination is key and anything is possible.

In one clip, a young girl, Maddie, takes on the role of coach for a football team. Smiles appear rapidly across the players’ faces when she instructs them to keep their knees “up like a unicorn”.

The advert showcases a completely new idea from Mattel, a brand previously criticised for creating unrealistic expectations for young females.

Please accept YouTube cookies to play this video. By accepting you will be accessing content from YouTube, a service provided by an external third party.

YouTube privacy policy

If you accept this notice, your choice will be saved and the page will refresh.

In an image-obsessed world full of body shaming and the rise of the size zero, it’s unusual to see an advert based around career as opposed to image. Perhaps this ad marks a change for the stereotypical Barbie. Will this inspirational ad spark a trend?

Lucy  Hillier

Related Itemsbarbiebarbie advertfashion

More in Fashion & Lifestyle

Tips for creating a peaceful home

The editorial unit
Read More

Six little-known holiday destinations for a quiet getaway

Rosie Davis
Read More

Chelsea Flower Show 2022: Greenery and wellbeing

Rebekah Absalom
Read More

LGBTQ+ friendly places around Pride London celebrations

Frankie Reddin
Read More

Five sustainable swimwear brands to try this summer

Rosie Davis
Read More

Ten spring wedding guest outfits you’ll want to be photographed in

Sophie Cook
Read More

Connaught Village celebrate summer with inaugural Garden Festival this Saturday

The editorial unit
Read More

Ruggable: The machine-washable rug

Rebekah Absalom
Read More

Ladies’ fashion: Seven wardrobe staples for summer

Rosie Davis
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap
  • Popular

  • Latest

  • TOP PICKS

  • Ed Fringe 2022: Hungry
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Kasabian – The Alchemist’s Euphoria
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • Tips for creating a peaceful home
    Feature of the week
  • Royal Ballet School students return to the stage for post-Covid performances
    Theatre
  • “Even people who’ve been through adversity might say ‘Well, I wouldn’t change anything because I wouldn’t be who I am'”: Eva Noblezada and Flula Borg on Luck
    Cinema & Tv
  • Kasabian – The Alchemist’s Euphoria
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • Rita at Charing Cross Theatre
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Ed Fringe 2022: Hungry
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • “Even people who’ve been through adversity might say ‘Well, I wouldn’t change anything because I wouldn’t be who I am'”: Eva Noblezada and Flula Borg on Luck
    Cinema & Tv
  • “Film offers a way of looking at the past, the present and the future simultaneously. That’s its wonder”: Sarah Beddington on Fadia’s Tree
    Cinema & Tv
  • Kasabian – The Alchemist’s Euphoria
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • Rita at Charing Cross Theatre
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • “Even people who’ve been through adversity might say ‘Well, I wouldn’t change anything because I wouldn’t be who I am'”: Eva Noblezada and Flula Borg on Luck
    Cinema & Tv
  • Nope
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Five Days at Memorial
    ★★★★★
    apple
The Upcoming
Pages
  • Contact us
  • Join mailing list
  • Join us
  • Our London food map
  • Our writers
  • Support us
  • What, when, why
With the support from:
International driving license

Copyright © 2011-2020 FL Media

Christmas gift guide 2015: for her
Malala Yousafzai calls herself a feminist after hearing Emma Watson’s UN speech