"BARBIE BOXES: TRENDS IN BARBIE PACKAGING FOR 2000" > Page 1, 2
Barbie® Boxes: Trends in Barbie Packaging for 2000
Part Two: Changes to Packaging in the Barbie® Play Line dolls--here's what's new!
A
walk down the Barbie aisle at Toys 'R Us no longer looks the same! Not
only have there been major changes to the packaging for collector-line Barbie
dolls, but there have been major changes to the packaging for the play-line
dolls as well.
The classic play line packaging for years has been the type of box shown for last year's Toys 'R Us Barbie shown on the left. The color of this box is what collectors call "Barbie" pink or "Pepto Bismol" pink in color, and the boxes are often made so that they have various angles to them--they are often NOT rectangular in shape (this doll's box has tapered front corners). The color of the boxes is the reason that collectors of play line dolls are called "pink box" collectors! Also, the boxes are notable for lots of cardboard with the name of the doll and other graphics/information (on this doll's box, the extra cardboard is at bottom of the box with Geoffrey the Giraffe, the Toys' R Us mascot, plus two flaps at the top. Note the Barbie logo on this box, which has been unchanged for many years.
New Logo and New Colors
New Boxes Start Showing Up In Retail Stores In Late 1999
In late 1999, redesigned boxes started to make their ways into the toy aisles. The new boxes featured a new logo--Barbie written in a script font, with "Doll" in very small letters after the logo (this was done for trademark reasons, but that is another story). On most boxes, www.Barbie.com is displayed prominently, and, most interesting of all, a new pink color was introduced--a light, not as bright pink, which is much easier on the eyes!
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This new, lighter pink is striped with other shades of pink that vary all the way up to the very pink "Pepto Bismol" pink that has dominated Barbie packaging since the 1970s!
Shape of Boxes//Accessories
Another change is that the boxes are more
rectangular and with "cleaner" lines--note the Corduroy Cool Barbie
and the Hollywood Nails Barbie shown below--most of what you see is the
doll--there are fewer cardboard pieces to distract. The packaging has been
carried over to the
Barbie accessories and toy line as well, as you can see with the "Shop With
Me" Cash Register. Note the striping of the pink colors which I
discussed above, the new logo, and the rectangular box--no tapered
corners!
Analysis
I think that these boxes are a definite step
ahead for Mattel and for the Barbie doll. The look is much more up- 
to-
date visually, and the dolls and toys seem more appealing surrounded by the
newer color pink and the script logo (to me!). The older style box is
still in use for certain dolls and accessories being sold today, and when seen
right next to the newer style boxes, the older ones definitely look dated (try
putting a Fashion Avenue in an older style box, side-buy-side with a
Fashion Avenue inside a newer style box, and you'll see what I mean!).
Additionally, play line dolls DO come in other
colored boxes, such as the gray box for the Hollywood Nails Barbie doll (the
color of the box shows the doll off perfectly!) Another current example of
alternate colors of boxes is the red box for the 101 Dalmatians Barbie doll
currently on the market. It will be interesting to see how far the trend of
alternate
colored boxes will go.
Part 1 > Read Trends in Barbie Doll Boxes > Page 1, 2
What do you think of Barbie Packaging--which is your favorite style? Discuss in the Displaying Barbie Discussion in the Dolls Forum--see a display of Barbies using all of the types of boxes in the thread!
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©Denise Van Patten 2000
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