The popularity of Barbie and her world is nothing new: everywhere and for decades it is no longer just a doll, a fashion doll - the one created in 1959 by Ruth Handler - but a costume phenomenon that has been updated to the times by suggesting role models, inspirations of professions, even when one was socially distant from all this. But now the most awaited film of the season is giving new life to the Californian blonde, Barbie by Greta Gerwig with Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling in the role of the glossy Ken, with sensational box office results, records in America and Italy.
Life in plastic, is fantastic
To launch the film during the massive promotional tour that globally anticipated its release, Warner Bros and Mattel, together with a large group of brands and influencers and thanks to various co-marketing campaigns that started spontaneously, have set up an incredible branding strategy.
One of the strategies used to publicize the film was to put it in the spotlight for months, creating a lot of anticipation even before the official trailer is released. The activities involved numerous sectors, from social networks, with special Instagram filters, to digital, with the pink stars on Google that appear by typing queries relating to the film, up to fashion and video games.
Through a competition, Uci Cinemas has even raffled off a trip to Malibu: by purchasing a ticket through the online channels of the circuit to attend the screenings until 28 July and registering it by 2 August on the barbie.ucicinemas.it website, viewers they will be able to participate in the draw and visit the places that inspired the world of the iconic doll.
In the social network field, the AR campaign created by Warner Bros. Discovery with Snapchat also took shape, with the new lens dedicated to the film starring the Mattel brand, with which boys and girls can wear the look of the actors Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, inspired by the clothes from the film. Warner Bros. Discovery also uses Snapchat technology to transform some of the monuments around the world and dye them with Barbie colors. In Italy it is the Colosseum that turns pink thanks to the new function of the social network.
In terms of awareness, there have also been various partnerships for Barbie-branded products, such as in Italy Kinder Easter eggs, Mondo Motors radio-controlled vehicles, the Barbie Print Cam instant camera with Lisciani, San Carlo snacks and more lines made with Tezenis, Original Marines, GAP.
It's Barbie mania even among products, an unprecedented case of a cult brand that, becoming the subject of a film, feeds a huge supply chain, obtaining an iconic moment in an almost 65-year history. Much of this trend sees a pink, plasticky and pop aesthetic in the first place, the classic pink Barbie, irresistible this summer according to the dictates of the Barbiecore trend.
In Italy there is an agreement Superga x Barbie the film, with a pink collection of shoes, international but also present in Italy agreements with the Opi limited edition line of nail polishes, nine shades that retrace the most recurring elements of the film: the sun, the beach and parties. For clothing Primark, Mango, H&M, Stradivarius launch ad hoc branded collections.
Brand Content and Brand Reposition
The film's debut on the big screen represents the culmination of the brand's long history and its journey that began in the mid-twentieth century and in which there were moments of crisis, faced with careful repositioning work, which brought the iconic Barbie doll to consecrate itself as a real lifestyle brand.
The film is part of this repositioning process with the aim of making the toy known to the new generations and making the previous ones remember it with nostalgia. Among the themes covered in the film and at the center of the debates in the press and on social media, there is, in fact, the challenge to gender stereotypes and patriarchy.
The thin and blonde doll, a symbol of unattainable beauty, which represented a girl interested in fashion and holidays, often at the center of criticism for these reasons, has evolved over time to be proposed as an independent woman and has been joined by countless variations, with dolls with different looks and different professions. In this way, in recent years Barbie, also thanks to advertising campaigns such as "With Barbie, you can be anything you want", has presented itself as a symbol of female empowerment and diversity. Product lines today are designed to stimulate the limitless potential of boys and girls, with dolls featuring different eye colors, hair colors and textures, body types, disabilities and styles.
But the film could herald the advent of a new way brands advertise their products. Now far from the traditional spot that interrupts the viewing of content, Barbie's project also seems to go beyond branded content: in this case, the brand produced the film (with Mattel Films), keeping it in line with its values, to connect consumers and investors in an innovative way. In fact, it's not just about Barbie and Mattel: other brands are also present in the film, such as Chevrolet, Birkenstock and Chanel.
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