Mattel Tries Again with Tattoo Barbie

Have we become more open minded with our children's exposure to things? In 1999 Mattel released Butterfly Art Barbie. She came with a crochet bikini top and denim shorts. She sported butterfly tattoo's and was packaged with temporary tattoo's. She lasted on the market for four months before she was pulled from the toy shelves due to parental complaints.

As a collector, I nabbed one of each design of this doll. Hoping that eventually the investment will pay off and if not, I had a unique doll that was not sold for long. In fact, a long standing user of epinions.com, I reviewed this particular doll on that site. I was new to writing and so the review is less clever than recent additions, however, I will post a snippet of that here to describe the previous doll.

"When Butterfly Art Barbie came out I had to have her! I just couldn't believe the Barbie ever made it out of Mattel's factory,much less on the shelves at Wal-Mart. I can only imagine what kind of image she is to all the other little girls who bought her. She is wearing a hippie outfit,pink string bikini top and jean skirt with pink bikini bottoms, she has her hair crimped and long. She's wearing what appears to be friendship bracelets on her neck and arm. She has a butterfly tattoo on her belly. She also comes with several temporary tattoo's for the little girl's to apply to her. Personally, I think it's hilarious that they actually thought this idea was going to fly with everyone. Did someone in Mattel get ahold of the Internet jokes about what kind of Barbie's to make? You know the Biker Barbie, Divorced Barbie, etc. It's rather entertaining but no way! For instance, I saw the harm in this Barbie when my friend's three year old little girl brought her Butterfly Art Barbie over to play. She told everyone for three weeks she was getting a tattoo on her butt. But where could she get the idea to get a butterfly on her butt? Hmmm...I know, I know. The doll's been recalled. So Barbie's got a bad girl streak. It almost makes me laugh to know she's not the perfect prissy everyone thought her to be. This taboo tattoo Barbie changed Barbie's image a little. Now I feel she makes mistakes too. So maybe her creator's or her are only human and plastic after all!"

Amazingly enough they went all out with this attempt. They don't even disguise her role marketing tattoo's with a flowery name. She is called Totally Stylin' Tattoo Barbie. She comes with tattoo's on her body and again, a package of tattoo's for the child. In addition she is packaged with a tattoo gun that works like a stamp on the child's skin and is washable.

Mattel seems to have grown a spine where the complaints are concerned. Their current stance on the new doll is that she will not be recalled. They have no plans to pull her from the shelf and feel as if she will inspire children to be creative.

Honestly, the Barbie didn't offend me personally the first time around. Though from a parent perspective, I could understand the various complaints about the doll. My bigger question to Mattel is, why tattoo Barbie now? We just had two female candidates play an important and vital role in the election. I would think that the market would be more open to Presidential Barbie or Political Barbie than another try with an idea that so obviously failed the first time around.

This attempt to bring back such a controversial doll, already has the bloggers and their fans laughing. There have been sentiments expressed such as, "For her next anniversary, are they going to give Barbie a tramp stamp?"