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50 Greatest Event Flops in History

FLOP No. 24 – The Barbie Liberation Front (1993)

GatheringPoint.news: The 50 Biggest Flops in Event History

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David Adler
Aug 26, 2025
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Barbie and G.I. Joe Display

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The Promise: At the height of Toy Week, Mattel and Hasbro rolled out gendered talking dolls—Teen Talk Barbie and GI Joe—with pre-scripted catchphrases.

What Happened: Activist pranksters swapped voice boxes in store shelves nationwide. Barbies shouted, “Vengeance is mine!” GI Joes chirped, “Let’s go shopping!” Media frenzy…

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