Authentic Brand
Activism

This paper conducts a critical evaluation of Barbie’s authenticity in their brand activism. The theory-based typology (see Fig.1) offered by Vredenburg, et al. (2020) is applied throughout this paper. Barbie’s brand practice is analysed and critically compared with their brand values, brand purpose and messaging to evaluate if they have been authentic in their brand activism. This paper posits that the Barbie brand has questionable authenticity in their history of brand activism. However, in recent years, as authentic brand activism has become increasingly important to consumers and other stakeholders, Barbie has become definitively authentic in their brand activism.