On mapping a marketing monstrosity: Barbie, Barbara and the reorientation of literary criticism

Abstract

Aiming to enrage as well as enlighten, this paper proffers an empirical study of the Barbie doll, which we construe as a marketplace monstrosity. Our contention continues with the claim that, despite being devoured by the big beasts of Big Data, Barbara Stern-style literary criticism still offers food for thought. Especially in a world where unconventional types and styles of marketing communication are on the menu once more. A monstrous omnium gatherum, our study recounts the story of Mattel’s undead brand, entombed in a lit-crit coffin, that’s been brought back to life of late. It’s a tale of two Barbaras that seeks to strike fear, and some fun, into contemporary marketing scholarship.

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