Barbie scrambling to stay relevant and boost flagging sales

The Danish-Norwegian band Aqua released its hit single Barbie Girl in 1997,with the infectious chorus Come on Barbie, lets go party! Butafter almost 60 years, the party may be coming to anend for Mattels infamous doll.

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After just a year on the market, Disneys Elsa doll did something extraordinarythis past Christmas. It outsold Barbie, something that hadnt happened in over adecade. Barbie sales dropped by 21 per centin third quarter 2014, which contributed toMattels net income plunging 59 per cent in the fourth quarter, and led the company tofire its CEO in January.

Of course, the decline of Barbie isnt new. While she commanded more than25 per centof the U.S. doll market in 2009, that share had dropped below 20 per centby 2013,thanks to competition from electronic toys and newer dolls.

But its not as ifBarbie hasnt been putting up a fight. Last year, Mattel got its iconic doll on thecover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue.

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The Sports Illustrated deal included four pages of ads, a cover wrap, video clipsand a limited edition Sports Illustrated version of Barbie. All elements of thecampaign featured the Unapologetic theme line, a response to decades of criticism that Barbie is a bad role model for young girls.

Just a few days later, Barbie unapologetically moved from swimsuit model toGirl Scout.

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At the same time Barbie was wearing a Girl Scout uniform in the U.S., she slippedinto quite a different uniform in Canada.

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Then in July, Mattel took yet another sharp turn.

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Back in 2012, Barbie set her sights even higher.

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Of course Barbie didnt win, even though Mattel claimed that in 2012 90 per centof U.S.girls age threeto 10 still owned at least one Barbie. Despite her many career shiftsand attempts at reinventing herself, Barbies just not finding as many openingsin todays toy cupboards.

Not only are girls more attracted to newer dolls andelectronics, parents are less eager to introduce daughters to Barbies obsessionwith glamour, shopping and unhealthy body image.

Bruce Chambers is a syndicated advertising columnist for CBC Radio.