Barbie releases groundbreaking ad featuring a boy

A new commercial for a limited-edition Barbie doll features a young boy proclaiming that the doll is “so fierce”.

The kid declares his doll to be “so fierce!”, before helping Barbie to answer her own miniature mobile phone.

The 30-second spot for Moschino Barbie – a $150 limited-edition doll that sold out within an hour of its release last week – showed two girls and a boy playing with the designer-clad doll.

“The video celebrates how boys and girls alike play with Barbie – it’s all about self-expression, fashion, imagination and storytelling”, the statement said.

If they are mostly a way to have fun, Barbie’s impossible measurements and heavy interest in fashion over book smarts may seem less threatening. Barbie was more than a toy. “I think we should let kids play and be happy, after all, play is the work of childhood!” “Thank you for this”, another wrote underneath.

Mattel’s timing is just right, because the pricey princess doll brand has off late been struggling to become relevant to little girls of today. Pandora Boxx, formerly a contestant on RuPaul’s Drag Race, commented on the video, saying the boy in the advertisement left the reality TV star feeling emotional.

There’s no doubt the ad is a laudably progressive step for Mattel.

The new commercial is certainly well-timed, considering the growing debate over gendering toys.

Over the summer, Target reportedly announced that its toy section would be redesigned so that all toys are grouped together.

Gossip columnist Perez Hilton, among others, has praised the toy company for challenging the stereotype that only girls like Barbie.