How Barbie Changed Marketing Forever

We are beginning to see the effects of Barbie-mania.

It’s been one week since Mattel and Warner Bros.’ iconic release of Barbie. Box office receipts surpassed all expectations with $155 million in domestic sales and $337 million worldwide, making it the highest opening weekend in the United States this year.

Despite the sombre backdrop of Hollywood strikes happening during the film’s release, Barbie has reminded us that there is nothing like the magic of movies. More than just another Summer blockbuster, the release demonstrated a “best-in-class” marketing campaign that left us all with everything-Barbie imprinted in our subconscious. The film reminds us that nostalgic IP taps every possible feeling under the sun and leaves us wanting more, from the franchise, the characters, and our own understanding of the 2023 Barbie message.

Barbie Marketing Master-Class

Barbie has been inescapable for months. With more than 100 brand partnerships and a whopping $150 million budget, we have been surrounded – both in our social feeds and IRL, by unsuspecting pink billboards, pink hamburgers at Burger King, Zara collaborations, luggage, hairbrushes, and so much more.

What could have been considered oversaturation, Mattel and Warner Bros. were instead able to set the stage for a months-long journey for consumers and establish within us all, a newfound love and appreciation for the franchise.

In this case, awareness was an astounding byproduct of a massive and history-making repositioning campaign. Perceptions around the Barbie brand shifted in the past few decades, as did sales and popularity amongst consumers – “Barbie fell 3% in 2021 to $1.55 billion from a soaring 1997 Barbie peak of $1.8 billion.”

While Mattel was able to find new audiences and increase sales in the long run, a tidal wave of female empowerment and need for inclusivity drove younger generations away from the once untouchable doll brand. The release of the film, written by the one-and-only Greta Gerwig, has fully changed the Barbie narrative to appeal to changing consumer preferences, behaviours, representation, and societal needs. The story line spoke to everyone, the mass partnerships offered a product, meal, and price point for everyone, too. 

We have seen over the past few years, in clothing, movies, books, and more, that nostalgia as a marketing tactic, works. It tugs at the heart strings of multiple generations at once, and Barbie has flooded consumers with that warm, fuzzy feeling effortlessly. In a recent Forbes article, even psychologists agree that the success of the brand and film is due to the emotion of nostalgia. The word is described as “a longing for the past…a powerful emotion that influences all aspects of our lives.” What Greta, Mattel and Warner Bros. have been able to deliver is a revitalised and new Barbie persona. The modern Barbie exudes cross-cultural knowledge, shows the importance of inclusivity in a modern world, and adds a sparkle of hope and connection in what can sometimes feel like a lonely “Real World.”

After leaving theatres, we inevitably have to re-inhabit said “Real World” but “Barbie Land” will surely stay alive inside of us. Consumers are left with the indelible feeling of – “what’s next?” Will Barbie stick to Birkenstocks, how was her doctor’s appointment, will she change her toenail colour? Will she compromise girls’ night for Ken, and more importantly, who will Barbie appoint to her cabinet as president? 

For Mattel and Warner Bros, Barbie proves to be an out-of-the-box, rosy case study for consumers and marketers alike.