​Truck Wheels and the New Ken Doll

In the articles you read here at BB Wheels, we talk a whole lot about manly things like truck wheels, camping trips and why you should never own a Hyundai Elantra or Ford Pinto. From time to time we offer helpful hints for the guys who are interested in planting a garden or need help deciding on a vacation destination. We have even written about good landscaping, biking to work and how to survive a shopping trip with your wife. This is all really informative and helpful stuff.

But in this article, we are going in a completely different direction.

You see, we won’t be talking about truck wheels, Nitto Trail Grappler tires or Fuel wheels, we will be discussing Ken. That is, this article is on the new and improved Ken doll. Yes, the very same one you see hanging out with Barbie.

Since as long as anyone cares to remember, the iconic Ken and Barbie dolls have looked the same with one body type, one hairstyle and dreadfully boring taste in clothing. This changed sometime ago when Mattel updated Barbie as well as her friends to include more sizes and styles to suit those little fashionista millennials.

But very recently, Mattel has updated Barbie with 40 new dolls with various body types, skin tones and even eye color. And you can bet they all have different hairstyles as well. Here is the big deal though, Barbie is not the only one going through some much-needed updates and changes, Ken is getting in on the action too.

OK, we’ll cut to the chase; there is now a Ken doll with a man bun.

There, we said it, put it out there for all of you to read. We’ll wait while you take a look at it. And if you think man bun Ken is ridiculous, they are also producing fat Barbie, excuse us, thin-challenged Barbie. Or, rather, a Barbie doll that realistically portrays how a woman’s body might look.

Barbie has gained a bad reputation for her unrealistic proportions and it has taken this long for things to get real.

But enough about Barbie, you want to hear more about man bun Ken.

Mattel has given Barbie’s boyfriend a makeover, several actually. The company has rolled out 15 new Ken dolls, including man bun Ken, with seven skin tones, three body types and nine hairstyles. That’s nine hairstyles, eight of which are not the man bun. We are having a hard time naming three men’s hairstyles, not including the mullet, of course.

While we applaud Mattel’s efforts, we have one major complaint: None of the new Ken dolls appeals to the typical pickup truck driver.

While man bun Ken might attract the younger generation or fashionista wannabes, we can think of Ken doll styles better suited for our type of people.

Redneck Ken

Redneck Ken sports a stylish mullet, of course he does, and wears cut-off jeans, a sleeveless t-shirt two sized too small for him and sandals over his socks. His accessories include an NRA registration card, a wallet with no cash or credit cards and tickets to an upcoming monster truck show.

Tailgate Party Ken

Tailgate Party Ken comes dressed in his favorite football team’s colors, from the jersey to the matching socks and shorts. He is holding a beer in one hand, a spatula in the other and accessories include a grill, foam hand and cooler.

Between Jobs Ken

Between Jobs Ken in literally glued to a couch and can be found living in his mom’s basement. He is the cheapest of the Ken dolls, literally.

If you have any ideas for a new line of Ken dolls, let us know and we will surely pass it on.