Mattel launches 2020 Barbie Election Campaign Team dolls with black candidate

Barbie's world has now conquered the White House as Mattel recently launched its Barbie Election Campaign Team in line with the upcoming US presidential elections in November. The new range of Barbie dolls was conceptualised in the hopes of encouraging youngsters to expose themselves to careers that bring women into leadership.

The Barbie Campaign Team includes four women who represent a presidential candidate, a campaign manager, a fundraiser and a voter. The team is also quite diverse to make children understand that anyone can aspire for a powerful position and lead. The presidential candidate Barbie is a black woman in a pink suit with black trousers while the rest of her presidential team are decked out in stylish dresses. Voter Barbie is in jeans and is sporting a white T-shirt with a sticker that says "I voted."

With a goal to normalise election culture, the election-themed dolls aim to address the growing apathy to vote in the younger generation. The company also treads on the possibility of acquainting kids to the idea of pursuing careers in politics.

In a press release from Lisa McKnight, Global Head for Barbie and Dolls at Mattel said, "Since 1959, Barbie has championed girls and encouraged them to be leaders whether in the classroom, community or someday, of the country. With less than a third of elected leaders in the US being women, and Black women being even less represented in these positions, we designed the Barbie Campaign Team with a diverse set of dolls to show all girls they can raise their voices."

The doll set was launched in coalition with She Should Run - a non-profit organisation dedicated to supporting women who wish to consider and pursue running for positions in government as well as educating them on the importance of voting. The tie up with Mattel is a product of funding from Barbie Dream Gap Project which is a global research initiative that aims to focus on helping girls to become positive role models through inspirational products.

The Barbie Campaign Team also has a website where young girls can explore the world of politics through play ballots and even prompts that teach them how to compose and write campaign speeches.

Erin Loos Cultraro, founder and CEO of She Should Run says, "By getting them excited today, we're giving them the confidence to raise their voices and run for office tomorrow."

The doll company has been marketing and selling candidate dolls since the 1992 presidential elections. This is the seventh election series where Mattel has produced a range of diverse dolls. In fact, it has received a lot of praise for its diverse dollies such as its disabled black Barbie.

The 2020 Campaign Team called Barbie's "Career of the Year" can be purchased online as a set with a price tag of £31.00.