That Barbie ad starring a boy wasn't created to 'challenge gender norms'

The online world collectivelylost its mind thisweekover the fact that a little boy was starring in aBarbie commercial for the first time ever.

"Mattel squashes stereotypes,""Barbie laughs in the face of gender norms," and "A trailblazing little boy is in a Barbie commercial for the first time"screamedheadlines asa YouTube video showingthree young childrenplaying with dolls went viral early this week.

For those who have yet to see the spot, its seven-year-old male star winks adorably, laughs with his two female friends, and helps Barbie answer her phone.

"SO fierce!" he says to the camera as he handsthe doll her tinydesigner purse.

Thousands on Twitter hailed Mattel's attempt to "rebrand"Barbiewith the ad, holding up the boy's inclusionas a sign that the company had finally responded to years worth of criticism over thetoy'simpact on gender identity in children.

"With the coming holiday season likely to provoke another debate over gender-specific toys, Mattel appears to have preemptively put down its stake for gender neutrality," reads a Washington Post article published Tuesday. "The gender-bending commercial is all part of a larger conversation about whether boys and girls truly prefer the toys that they have historically been known to prefer, or if they are simply conditioned to do so."

"The Moschino Barbie boy doesn't care," the piece continues, referring to the child's apparent attitude towards the debate. "He seems happy enough to have a 'fierce' doll in his hands."

So excited were bloggers, social media users, and even news reportersby the adthat almost nobody noticed the uploaddate of the video they'd been sharing since Monday or that it hadn't actually beenpublished by Mattel at all.

While the iconic toy brand did have a role in the video's creation, it is not a Barbie commercial, nor was it everintended to be.

The 30-second-long Moschino Barbie!spotwas concepted and directed by fashion designer Jeremy Scott, Moschino's creative director.

Mattel had collaborated withthe Italian fashion house to produce a limited-edition line of clothing and a corresponding $150 USdoll, both of which were unveiled at the end of October.

According to Vogue, all 700 of the limited editionMoschino Barbie dolls were sold within one hour of theirrelease on Nov. 9.

You can find some of them selling on Ebay for up to $900.

The video that went viralweek was uploadedto Moschino's YouTube channel on Oct. 30, and had less than 100,000 views until Nov. 16 when it spiked to almost one million.

Three days later, it's now been watched 2.3 million times.

While it's hard to tell why, exactly, the video started trending now,LGBTnews outlet The Advocate was the first to report on the adin a story Sunday that got more than 36,000 shares.

From there, it spread to outlets like Entertainment Weekly,Buzzfeed, CNN and eventually CBS and FOX affiliates across the United States.

Mattel responds to the hype

BBC News reported on the commercial Wednesday after reaching out to Mattel and the contents of that piece effectively crushed the hopes of everyone who'dhoped to see the little boy Barbie adon TV.

Both Mattel and Scott sent the BBC statements to clarify that it was, essentially, a parody (or, as Scott called it, a "fauxmercial.")

"This video parodies iconic Barbie commercials from the 1980's starring a young Jeremy Scott look alike," said Mattel, noting that Scott was in charge of theproject's creative elements.

Scott also suggested that the boy in the commercial was inspired by himself as a kid.

"When I dreamt up the concept for the Moschino Barbie fauxmercial, I felt it was natural to have a little boy representing for all the little boys like myself who played with Barbies growing up," he wrote. "Barbie was more than a toy, she was a muse for me."

Ain't that the truth. Scott, 42, has demonstrated a love for and solid knowledge of Barbie throughout the course of his directorshipatMoschino.

The fashion house and the toy company have had great successwith their collaborations in the past, and both seem happy about how well the commercial is being received.

Mattel's statement touched on thediscussions its adhad inspired online, but called the message a"celebration" of boys and girls alike, as opposed toa way to "challenge" gender normsor "break-down" stereotypes.

"The video celebrates how boys and girls alike play with Barbie," said Mattel to BBC News."It's all about self-expression, fashion, imagination and storytelling."

It's also about shopping,let's not forget.