Saying it wanted to better reflect 21st century society, Mattel has released a new ‘Government Consulting Barbie’ that plays with your best friend behind your back and then passes on your personal details while you’re not watching.
The doll is quoted at a starting price of $125 million, but insiders say that the cost is likely to balloon to $195 million plus materials once you’re finished playing with her.
“Any playing with the doll that is deemed ‘outside of scope’ will incur an additional cost, charged at an hourly rate, obviously,” a Mattel spokesperson said.
The company says the new doll will encourage new ways of thinking. “She certainly encourages imagination. One minute you’ll be play-acting a tea party, the next thing you know she’s scoped out a project to overhaul Australia’s social services department”.
The high-tech doll is also interactive. “She’s programmed to repeat back exactly what you say and then present you with an invoice for her time,” the spokesperson said.
Early customers say they have been disappointed to discover that the picture on the box does not exactly match what’s inside. “When you open it up it’s actually just a ‘Graduate Trainee Barbie’ inside”.
