# And The 2014 SI Swimsuit Cover Girl Is........



## BostonBob (Apr 24, 2010)

Barbie ???????

*from globalnews.ca:*










After 50 years of debate over her unattainably perfect figure, Barbie now is unapologetic about her tiny waist and endless legs.

To prove it? The doll, which is made by Mattel, is flaunting her frame in Sports Illustrated Swimsuit's 50th anniversary issue that's hitting stands on Tuesday. She'll be featured alongside supermodels like Christie Brinkley and Brooklyn Decker as part of a campaign called "unapologetic."

"As a legend herself, and under constant criticism about her body and how she looks, posing &#8230; gives Barbie &#8230; and her fellow legends an opportunity to own who they are," Mattel said in a statement.

The campaign is a departure for the 55-year old doll, which has been both beloved as a plaything and criticized as an unrealistic standard of beauty for decades.

In fact, Barbie has faced scrutiny for everything from her chiseled facial features and disproportionately small waist to her "life choices." And last year, an artist renewed controversy over Barbie's effect on body image after an artist posted pictures of the more meaty physique the doll would have if she had the figure of an average 19-year-old.

Mattel has tried to change Barbie with the times. The doll has gone through several reinventions, including 150 careers, from architect to lifeguard, and a brief publicity-stunt breakup with her boyfriend Ken.

But this latest move, which again sparked online debate on Wednesday about body image issues, comes as Mattel tries to revive interest in the doll icon. Barbie is worth an estimated $1.3 billion in sales for the toymaker and she's the No. 1 toy brand.

But Barbie has lost some popularity in recent years to edgier toys like Mattel's Monster High dolls with their tattoos and neon hair. In fact, Barbie has had declining sales in five of the last six quarters, with sales falling 13 per cent in the most recent quarter.

Mattel hopes the "unapologetic" campaign will boost Barbie's image.

As part of the campaign, there will be a collector Sports Illustrated Barbie doll, an event at the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Beach House on Monday, a billboard in New York's Times Square and (at)Barbie tweets with the hashtag "unapologetic" on Twitter. Barbie also will appear on the cover of 1,000 issues in an advertising "cover wrap" for the New York Toy Fair, which starts Sunday.

Spending for the campaign was undisclosed.

"Unapologetic" is a word that Mattel executives use internally, said Lisa McKnight, the senior vice-president at Mattel. But she said this is the first time the company is "engaging in a conversation publicly."

Sports Illustrated Swimsuit editor MJ Day said Barbie fits in with the swimsuit issues' "message of empowerment" for women.

But Allen Adamson, a branding expert, said he's not sure a feature in Sport's Illustrated's swimsuit issue is the right strategy for the brand.
*"The Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue is one step away from Playboy magazine," he said. "It is potentially sending the wrong message to girls."*


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## nigerian prince (Mar 8, 2013)

i would have preferred elle macpherson, haha look at the moronic quote at the bottom of the post..


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## SeaHorse_Fanatic (Apr 22, 2010)

As the father of two little girls, I'm not sure that I want to have their world confused with the adult-oriented SI Swimsuit edition world. 

I wonder how having Barbie on the cover will affect sales of the SI swimsuit edition. I agree that Elle Macpherson would probably be a much more popular choice.


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## BostonBob (Apr 24, 2010)

So my ex-GF came over tonight because she misses our cat ( but not me apparently  ) and to avoid any arguing I watched TV while she played with him. After awhile she came into the living room as I was looking through my list of recorded programs and saw that I had recorded that SI Swimsuit special that aired a couple of weeks ago. She asked if I still bought the SI Swimsuit edition and I told her that I didn't but then told her about this year's Barbie cover. She looked at it and it took her only about 5 seconds to notice something I never did - right at the top of the cover is the header " Promotional Coverwrap - American International Toy Fair 2014 ". So apparently this cover was just a promotional gimmick for the upcoming Toy Fair in NYC. Just so nobody loses any more sleep over this here is the actual cover for the 2014 SI Swimsuit edition:


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## mcrocker (May 29, 2010)

This type of campaign is designed to offend some people, that's how they are getting their name out there. I heard about this on the radio this morning, and it was the first time I heard anybody mention SI in a long time. Even if that isn't actually going to be a cover, it's still working for their marketing department.

It's going to get them tons of press, and the people who are most offended would not have bought SI Swimsuit Edition before this campaign either. It has never been about sports, always about the bodies in swimsuits.


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