You may have been driving and seen a pink billboard with nothing but a small text at the bottom ‘July 21’. No image, no text- but people know in an instant that it is Barbie. Barbie has literally painted the world pink this summer causing its global shortage.
Not content with setting box office records this year, Barbie is also writing a playbook on how to market a film.
Back in 2019, the marketing team of Barbie dropped a mysterious teaser. Everyone was automatically intrigued by neon-clothed Ken and Barbie. Margot Robbie was the perfect person to play Barbie. The set pictures and teasers, made people want to know more. People bought things based on emotion and later justified it with logic.
Fast forward to 2023, from a life-size dream house to a hot pink café, the brand is everywhere. It has led to something called Barbie Core, a world awash with pink. The color pink is in sync with a movement happening around the world. Barbie is less about nostalgia and toys but more about creating a universe that you can really feel a part of. The Barbie team knows that their audience is not really little children, not really elderly. It is the people in between: Millenials and Gen Z who have played with and loved Barbie and are really excited about this real-life adaptation. That is why in their trailer Barbie drops a line, “ Do you guys ever think of dying?” And then Ken says, “Could I stay tonight, cause we are boyfriend and girlfriend?” These are hidden messages that they want older audiences to connect with the movie or find it humorous.
The most important marketing strategy of Barbie that has perhaps propelled it to touch a billion dollars is the aggressive use of the Mere Exposure Effect. Painting pink everywhere to re-engage the audience and revive lost interest, Barbie has collaborated with many brands. So if you are seeing Barbie everywhere, it is completely deliberate on their part. A signature ice cream with Cold Stone, makeup with NYX, a console with Xbox- they even have a pink sausage burger in Burger King. They have collaborated with Froyo, Forever 21, Zara, Paula Skates, and the list goes on. There is even a collaboration with Architecture Digest, where Barbie herself ( Margot Robbie) takes you inside the Malibu Dreamhouse which can be rented on Airbnb. You can also buy barbie themed Crocs, pet bowls, Fossil Watch, Donuts, and toothbrushes. They have even lit up important landmarks in London pink and barbiefied public transport. If you search Barbie on Google, your screen will sparkle pink. On TikTok, they have created a Barbie filter where you can upload your barbiefied poster. Companies now are just cashing on Barbie core aesthetics such as barbie-themed burgers, drinks and parties. And Mattel is actually earning a significant profit from these brand deals. It is a way of free promotion on Barbie. A creative marketing strategy actually builds your audience exponentially because you put out the material and people market for you freely. This is called User Generated Content. This happens especially in Social Media when you tag three friends and those three friends tag three friends each and the chain continues.
The Barbie team has created hundreds of accounts and spammed Discord, Reddit with Barbieheimer memes and people are participating in it not knowing that it is an effective marketing tool for Barbie.
Method dressing is when actors dress or portray their characters. When Jenna Ortega pulls out a very beautiful black in the Met you became unsure where Wednesday ends and Ortega begins. Margot’s pretty pink looks from the totally hair Barbie of 1992 to the enchanted 1960 gown in her press tours have been wonderful.
When people consider whether to buy a ticket or not, the excitement of dressing up pink, watching the movie with friends, and then going for a Barbie-themed rave makes the decision so easy.
