The Inspiration For The First Boy To Ever Appear In A Barbie Ad

By Kristy Puchko | Miscellaneous | November 18, 2015 |

By Kristy Puchko | Miscellaneous | November 18, 2015 |

Barbie was introduced 56 years ago. And in all that time, she’s been relegated to the pink-swathed, girls-only aisles of toy stores. But I bet a lot of us know a boy who played/plays with Barbies. Either because he has sisters, or because he just likes playing with dolls—society’s stigmas be damned! Well, Barbie has finally gotten the memo, including an adorable little boy in a TV spot for the first time ever.

Check it out below, courtesy of Yahoo:

This comes in the wake of Target making its toy section gender neutral and Disney doing the same with costumes. But the true inspiration for this marketing move may have been Jeremy Scott, the mohawked creative director of Moschino, who collaborated with Mattel on the limited edition doll.

I HAD A BLAST LAST NIGHT HOSTING THE #VMA PRE SHOW THANK YOU @MTV FOR LETTING MY IMAGINATION RUN WILD FROM THE MOON MAN TO THE RED CARPET SETS I FOREVER WILL WANT MY MTV !!! 💘📺🎤

A photo posted by Jeremy Scott (@itsjeremyscott) on Aug 31, 2015 at 11:52am PDT

The cute kid’s look definitely appears to harken back to Scott’s signature hairdo. But more importantly, his earnest love of Barbie connects to the fashion figure’s own personal history. Scott told People, “The thing I love about Barbie is that she is the ultimate muse and inspired me to become a designer. Moschino style is all about humor coupled with high fashion and Barbie allows us to play out these looks in whole new way.”

Here’s hoping this ad is a step toward a world where a boy playing with dolls on TV won’t be headline news. In the meantime, this boy is as fierce as his Moschino Barbie.

SO HAPPY ABOUT ALL THE LOVE AND ATTENTION MY @moschino BARBIE COMMERCIAL IS GETTING. TO ME IT WAS SO NATURAL TO HAVE A BOY PLAYING WITH THE BARBIE AS WELL AS THE GIRLS. I AM THRILLED THAT ITS STARTED A NATIONAL DISCUSSION ABOUT GENDER NEUTRALITY FOR KIDS TOYS. I THINK WE SHOULD LET KIDS PLAY AND BE HAPPY AFTER ALL PLAY IS THE WORK OF CHILDHOOD ! #MOSCHINOBARBIE

A photo posted by Jeremy Scott (@itsjeremyscott) on Nov 17, 2015 at 12:34pm PST

Kristy Puchko lives in perpetual fear that ice cream will become self-aware New York City.