(Forget spys and bombers!) Madeover Ken hopes to win back Barbie

[Sequoia]

NEW YORK (Reuters) -- He's been to the gym, looks buff and stylish, and now Barbie's boy toy Ken wants to win back the doll he split from two years ago.

After a two-year separation, Mattel Inc. said Thursday that Barbie's long-time suitor wants to rekindle his decades-long romance with his plastic paramour.

Mattel is hoping Ken's return to retail stores can also revitalize the company's overall fortunes. In January, the company blamed sagging Barbie sales for sagging profits.

"Ken has revamped his life -- mind, body and soul," Hollywood stylist and Mattel consultant Phillip Bloch said in a statement. "Everyone knows how difficult it is to change, especially when you've lived your life a certain way for more than four decades."

<snip>

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/02/09/ken.barbie.reut/index.html