Barbie you vamp

Barbie sinks her teeth into pop culture phenomenon

by Jenni Gilmer, August 14th, 2009, Friday.

Category: Consumer Products, Media, Trends

Seems like everyone is trying to get a piece of the action when it comes to pop culture juggernaut Twilight, the teen romance vampire movie and its sequel based on Stephanie Meyer’s novels.

The marketing machine is running at fever pitch these days as Summit Entertainment is releasing Twilight’s sequel, New Moon, on Nov. 20. The news this week is that Mattel is putting out Twilight Barbie dolls of heroine Bella Swan and her vampire boyfriend Edward Cullen. Seriously — vampire Barbies? Yep. Well, at least one of them is. If you didn’t know these dolls were bonny Bella and Edward the Gorgeous, you might not be able to guess. They just look like casually dressed young people. But that doesn’t matter — droves of Twilight fans are sure to purchase them when they hits shelves on Nov. 1 at Wal-Mart and on BarbieCollector.com.

Not that teenage girls (or even pre-teen girls, really) play with Barbies by that age. These aren’t the kind of Barbies you play with anyway. Not when they cost $24.95 each. No, they are collector items and when it comes to Barbies, that’s a big business.

Barbie is no stranger to pop culture makeovers. Mattel has set the blonde icon in various TV shows (I Dream of Jeannie, Wonder Woman, Star Trek, The Addams Family, and Bewitched … I could keep going) as well as movies (Grease, Legally Blonde 2, and King Kong).

Twilight Barbies are a smart move for Mattel considering some Barbie collectors make Yankees fans look calm. Very smart when you consider the frenzy that these dolls will incite among ravenous Twilight fans.

[OMG OMG OMG! Eeeeek! OMG like I like LOOOOOOVVE Twilight!]