Work

On mapping a marketing monstrosity: Barbie, Barbara and the reorientation of literary criticism

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Aiming to enrage as well as enlighten, this paper proffers an empirical study of the Barbie doll, which we construe as a marketplace monstrosity. Our contention continues with the claim that, despite being devoured by the big beasts of Big Data, Barbara Stern-style literary criticism still offers food for thought. Especially in a world where unconventional types and styles of marketing communication are on the menu once more. A monstrous omnium gatherum, our study recounts the story of Mattel’s undead brand, entombed in a lit-crit coffin, that’s been brought back to life of late. It’s a tale of two Barbaras that seeks to strike fear, and some fun, into contemporary marketing scholarship.

Source: Journal of Marketing Management

DOI: 10.1080/0267257x.2025.2498013

Authors: Rachel Ashman, Stephen Brown, Anthony Patterson

Institutions: University of Liverpool, University of Ulster, Lancaster University

Language: English

Topic: Literature, Culture, and Aesthetics

Subfield: Museology

Field: Arts and Humanities

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

OpenAlex ID: W4411089949

FWCI: 7.344

Cites: 235

Cited by: 1

Related to: 10