Real Life Story Behind The Sugar Daddy Ken Doll -

One of the Kens to be featured in the Barbie movie is Sugar Daddy Ken, a callback to one of Mattel's most talked-about but discontinued Ken dolls.

Summary

Key takeaways:
Greta Gerwig's Barbie movie had Easter Eggs for Barbie fanatics, including a cameo by Sugar Daddy Ken.
Growing Up Skipper and Earring Magic Ken were discontinued due to controversy, with concerns over sexualization and being too weird.
Sugar Daddy Ken was released in 2010 as part of Barbie's Palm Beach line and was named after his pet dog, causing marketing misfire and controversy, leading to its discontinuation.

Greta Gerwig’s Barbie was not just a revisionist satire on the toy corporation Mattel but it also featured numerous Easter Eggs for diehard Barbie fanatics, such as a blink-and-miss cameo by Sugar Daddy Ken. Starring Margot Robbie as a self-aware Barbie in a vibrant Utopia filled with many more Barbies and Kens, Gerwig and Noah Baumbach’s screenplay accommodated Barbie-specific references,like a scene featuring Barbie creator Ruth Handler and several discontinued Mattel toys like the Growing Up Skipper and Earring Magic Ken dolls. As Helen Mirren’s narrator puts it in the movie, some of these products were “just too weird” to dominate toy stores.

For instance, Growing Up Skipper was meant to help young children understand puberty. However, the doll was soon discontinued in the '70s after a huge backlash as parents were justifiably concerned about the doll sexualizing young teenage girls. A doll that similarly polarized consumers was the one strangely christened Sugar Daddy Ken. Welsh actor Rob Brydon (The Trip, The Huntsman: Winter’s War) plays Sugar Daddy Ken, one of the many Kens in the Barbie movie. Sugar Daddy Ken appears for a brief moment at Weird Barbie’s house but he has an interesting history behind him.

Mattel Created Barbie's Sugar Daddy Ken Doll In 2009

While Growing Up Skipper debuted in the 1970s, Sugar Daddy Ken Doll was first announced by Mattel in 2009, the year that marked Barbie’s 50th anniversary. A part of Barbie’s Palm Beach line of dolls, Sugar Daddy Ken was priced at $82 and was publicly released in the spring of 2010. Compared to other Ken dolls of the time, Sugar Daddy Ken looked slightly older in age, be it in terms of his chic wardrobe or his slick greying blonde hairstyle. Hence, it made perfect sense for 58-year-old Rob Brydon to play him in Greta Gerwig’s movie.

Analyzing his flamboyant wardrobe further, this version of Ken clearly reimagined him as an upper-class socialite unlike other Kens that mostly don casual beachwear. The green damask print blazer, in fact, resembled a particular socialite from Slim Aaron’s iconic photograph “Palm Springs Party”. Instead of a “Mojo Dojo Casa House”, the party’s setting is the Kaufmann Desert House at California’s Palm Springs. Women’s Wear Daily pointed out how the Aaron’s 1970 snapshot features several partygoers, one of whom wears a similar blazer and white trousers, most likely making him the inspiration behind Mattel’s Sugar Daddy Ken. Such inspirations seem apt given that Mattel aimed the doll for adult collectors.

The Real Meaning Of Sugar Daddy Ken's Name

Even though Ken is supposed to be ageless in Barbie, Sugar Daddy Ken definitely looks older than the other toys. But still, he was never an actual “sugar daddy”. Instead, Mattel named him so simply on the basis of his pet dog. Each Sugar Daddy Ken doll was packaged along with a white West Highland terrier puppy. Sold along with a pink leash, Ken could be made to pose like he’s taking out the dog for a stroll. Technically, this Ken is “Sugar’s Daddy” instead of being a “sugar daddy”. Naturally, a lot of confusion was created by the absence of an apostrophe and an “s” in the doll’s name.

Sugar Daddy Ken's Controversy & Discontinuation Explained

The doll’s suggestive name proved to be marketing misfire for Mattel. The toy corporation’s then-spokesperson Michelle Chidoni initially told ABC News that they weren’t worried because the doll was after all targeting an adult collector demographic. Even though the name very much referred to the dog Sugar, Chidoni added “I think people are going to interpret it as they want to interpret it.”

Naturally, with all the backlash this gentlemanly Ken doll received, Mattel decided to discontinue the doll. Sugar Daddy Ken faced the same criticism as Growing Up Skipper within just a year of his debut. The last remaining Sugar Daddy Kens are rare among Barbie collectors as the online collectible retailer Entertainment Earth also lists him as an item that is unavailable to the public. However, with Rob Brydon making a wild cameo in Barbie as a Ken Doll, interest in the discontinued Mattel product is bound to resurge. Director Greta Gerwig has not only broken box-office records but also managed to offer tribute to the strangest aspects of Barbie’s lore.