Whether it appeals to you or not, you’ve definitely heard about the Barbie movie by now. Prior to its release into cinemas on July 21st, Mattel and Warner Bros did an incredible job at building up the hype around the film.
Over a year before the movie’s release date, the two co-stars, Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, were caught by fans and paparazzi filming a rollerskating scene in Los Angeles. Interviews with Robbie have told us that the team weren’t expecting to be caught whilst filming… but can we really believe that? These images circulated fast, giving many anticipated fans a brief glimpse into what they can expect from the film, and it definitely got people talking.
Like any movie marketing campaign, posters, and billboards were popping up everywhere months before the film’s release, but with a marketing budget of $100 million, it definitely didn’t stop there.
Keeping it in the family
The iconic Barbie franchise is owned by Mattel, one of the largest multinational toy companies that also owns a wide range of other brands. It would only make sense to incorporate other Mattel products into the Barbie campaign. Barbie-themed UNO cards were quick to hit the shelves, along with the classic Barbie-pink 1956 Corvette which became the newest addition to the Hot Wheels collection.
Bringing the movie to life
The marketing team did a great job at making the movie seem as ‘real-life’ as possible. I’m obviously not talking about the film itself, which is full of special effects and half of it is set in ‘Barbieland’, not the real world. However, fans were able to experience aspects of the movie in personal ways, making it feel much more real than it is.
Posters for the movie were everywhere, and one of the most iconic designs was a depiction of each ‘Barbie’ and each ‘Ken’, because yes, there are multiple of both in the film, with certain taglines like ‘This Barbie is President’, or ‘This Barbie is a diplomat’. Fans were able to create their own images just like the posters by using a Selfie Generator. This was an incredible marketing tactic, as thousands of fans flocked to create their own image to share across their social media. Many even began making memes using other movie characters and comical taglines, which is my personal favourite way this tool was used. This was a part of the campaign that was entirely self-sufficient after its launch and had incredible reach.
Architectural Digest, a renowned design magazine, created a full tour of the Barbie Dreamhouse where parts of the movie are set. The magazine often creates house tours of celebrities and other high-profile individuals with impressive homes on its YouTube channel, so this fits in perfectly with its existing content, whilst allowing fans a sneak peek into Barbie’s home.
Not only this, but Airbnb teamed up with the movie to offer fans a one-night stay in the iconic building in Malibu. Two nights were offered for up to two people each night, and these stays were entirely free! The ploy was that Ken was renting out the house whilst Barbie was away shooting the film. It seems like the ideal location to host something like a hen-do rather than a one-night stay for two, but I’m sure Airbnb were inundated with applicants for this opportunity.
No brand is safe
Plenty of other brands wanted to get involved with the Barbie movie hype. Even Google got involved – just search for the movie to have your entire screen turned shades of pink!
It became a two-way street: Mattel wanted to partner with as many brands as possible to get the idea and image of Barbie anywhere and everywhere, and brands wanted to partner with Mattel because of the sudden, intense demand for Barbie-themed items.
These are not all of the brand collaborations, in fact, not even close, but here are some of my favourites.
Xbox produced a one-of-a-kind console that was built into a Barbie Dreamhouse, given away to one lucky fan. Five custom controller skins were also released, and racing game Forza introduced Barbie’s iconic vehicle into the game.
Shoe brand ALDO brought out a whole range of Barbie products. These feel so nostalgic to me, as they perfectly replicate the shoes and accessories you find with traditional Barbie dolls. It’s little surprise that the entire collection is now sold out!
Another nostalgic one – travel brand, Beis, brought out a range of hot-Barbie-pink suitcases. Again, these replicate the kind of accessories that certain Barbie dolls would come with, so avid fans or collectors were likely more than interested in the range.
Last, but certainly not least, makeup brand NYX released a Barbie collection. There’s much more in the collection than I’ve pictured here, but this product in particular caught my eye. The packaging looks identical to the packaging of a Barbie doll – very cleverly done. Other items in the collection definitely give me flashbacks to all of the ‘makeup’ I had as a child, bright and bold colours in plastic containers, designed to give parents a heart attack when they enter their kid’s bedroom to find their face, arms and let’s be honest, walls and carpet covered in the products. Although having some underlying adult themes and references, the Barbie movie is intended to be enjoyed by today’s kids too, so I really appreciate having products like these released that remind me of being younger.
Barbie everywhere
It’s unlikely that you’ve been able to escape the marketing efforts for this box office movie, and even now after its release, you probably still can’t escape it. With a very mixed reception, you’ve probably seen more than a handful of strong opinions of the plot line over on Twitter… I mean, X… Either way, all publicity is good publicity, right?
No matter what people’s opinions are of the movie itself, I truly am impressed with the marketing efforts throughout the long build-up to the film.
