Barbie®, one dad’s viewBarbie®, one dad’s view

Hi. My name is Chuck Scothon, and welcome to my first post in my first blog. In this and future postings, I want to speak with you (and hear from you) as frequently as I can, writing both from my own experience as the General Manager of the Mattel Girls Division, which includes Barbie, and also as the father of a 5-year-old girl.

Having previously spent 12 years as part of Fisher Price, I have seen the power of connecting a brand and a company with efforts that make a difference in the lives of families and children. I believe Barbie has this opportunity too — to not only connect with the needs, desires, and goals of parents, but to continue to influence and inspire girls around the world. This opportunity is what makes me so excited about the possibilities of a new website that we’ve just launched, WeBelieveInGirls.com.

(In fact, since you’re reading this blog, you’ve probably already been there. If not, click here, check it out, and then come back and tell me what you think.)

WeBelieveInGirls.com is designed to support the idea that girlhood is a magical, powerful time that should be protected, encouraged, and nurtured.

My hope is that the site will do one thing really well: give us parents a place to laugh, cry, discuss, engage, and help solve the many things we are all dealing with. Some things will be serious in nature, like the concern many of us have over how quickly our girls our growing up. Other times we will simply celebrate what makes girls so special.

So that’s the site. Now back to the purpose of this blog. As we go forward, I want to use this space to make you more aware of what we at Mattel, and specifically at Barbie, are doing to try to help. I know that as a dad, there are times when I could really use some advice and maybe this can be the place to start the conversation.

I also plan, over time, to share with you the names, faces, and thoughts of the many people that I work with every day. These are people who truly feel blessed to work on the Barbie brand, a brand that brings happiness, smiles, and excitement to girls around the globe. In doing so, I hope you can experience what I am able to see everyday…that we truly do believe in girls and that we are committed to doing something about it.

That’s it for now. Please write and tell me what you think.

—Chuck Scothon, father of Gabriella