Sold-Out Ava DuVernay Barbie Proves Hot Demand for Diverse Dolls

The figure made in the likeness of the Academy Award–nominated director was gone in minutes.
(Photos: Facebook)
Dec 8, 2015· 1 MIN READ
Culture and education editor Liz Dwyer has written about race, parenting, and social justice for several national publications. She was previously education editor at Good.

A limited-edition doll Barbie modeled after Ava DuVernay sold out in under an hour on Monday, causing fans of the Academy Award–nominated Selma director to take to social media to express their disappointment over not snagging one. On Monday afternoon, DuVernay, who is donating all of the proceeds from the sale of the $65 Ava DuVernay Barbie doll to two nonprofits, Color of Change and Witness, shared why she believes the 999 dolls made in her likeness sold like hotcakes.

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“People have really been kind embracing this doll, but it’s certainly not about me. It’s about the image,” she wrote on Twitter. By 2020, the majority of children under 18 in the United States are projected to be kids of color, and parents have been demanding dolls that look like their sons and daughters.

The Ava DuVernay Barbie was first released as a one-of-a-kind doll back in April as part of Mattel’s Sheroes campaign, an effort that produced one doll to be auctioned off to raise money for charity. After fans of DuVernay bombarded Mattel on Twitter and Facebook with requests to purchase the dreadlocked, black-clad, red sneaker–wearing doll, the brand decided to manufacture a limited run of 999 dolls.

Mattel’s social media team kept busy on Tuesday, tweeting an explanation for the limited number of dolls to disappointed consumers. “Our Platinum Label dolls are highly collectible. These dolls tend to sell out quickly & this one is no exception,” the company said.

The success of the DuVernay figure comes on the heels of another rough year for Barbie: Global sales of the iconic doll continued to plummet in the third quarter of 2015, down 14 percent compared with the same period in 2014. The decline comes amid criticism from privacy advocates over Hello Barbie, a doll that listens to and records what’s going on around it—and sends those recordings to a third party. Mattel has incorporated girl-power messaging into its advertising, but the company continues to face complaints that the thin, white, blonde doll presents a limited standard of beauty and achievement for girls.

Folks who didn’t manage to snag one of the dolls on Monday have taken to social media with the hashtag #AvaBarbie, posting hilarious GIFs and images of the moment they discovered the Ava DuVernay Barbie was sold out.

Actor Pia Glenn noted the parallel between the popularity of the doll and how quickly a new pair of Nike Air Jordan basketball shoes sells.

Like a pair of in-demand Jordans, the Barbie Ava DuVernay doll is now available for $350 on eBay—an indication of existing demand that executives at Mattel might be paying attention to. At least, that’s probably the hope of the dozens of folks who have taken to social media to voice their frustration over the unavailability of the dolls.

As for DuVernay, on Monday afternoon she tweeted her appreciation of the support her fans showed to the doll. “Thx to all who celebrated black girls, women filmmakers, natural hair + a good tennis shoe via this doll. Happy. xo!” she wrote.