21st Century Film Marketing: Exploring the Dissemination of the Barbie Movie

Last weekend's theatrical premiere of Barbie brings to a close one of the most comprehensive and impressive marketing campaigns in recent history. A movie rarely becomes a cultural hallmark before it hits theatres. Greta Gerwig's 'Barbie' movie has drawn more than 100 commercial partners and made several headlines for anything from a new Prada line to a Barbie Dreamhouse on Airbnb. 

Throughout the previous week, Margot Robbie graced international premieres in outfits modeled after real-life Barbie dolls. The movie stars Ryan Gosling, Helen Mirren, Issa Rae, and Ncuti Gatwa, among other well-known actors worldwide. The soundtrack of the film produced by Mark Ronson himself, includes songs by eminent artists like Dua Lipa, Billie Eilish, and Charlie XCX. Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice collaborated to sample the original Barbie Girl song by Aqua. Christopher Nolan's grim biopic 'Oppenheimer' opened on the same day as Barbie, and without a doubt, became one of its biggest motivators. The two films' opening weekends became to be known popularly as "Barbenheimer" weekend.

Barbie has grossed $162 million in the US and Canada, making history being the largest domestic debut by a female director ever. It then proceeded to beat Nolan's Oppenheimer to become the biggest film of the year in the US. The iconic doll was first made in 1959 and has undergone several transformations since. Its fandom has seen princess movies, TV shows, and social media accounts dedicated to Barbie for decades now. So how exactly did the Barbie movie blow up all of a sudden in 2023, and that too amongst late teenagers and adults, long past their Barbie days? 

The film employed some very innovative marketing tactics, namely the Pink Barbie Dreamhouse Airbnb that sprouted in Malibu for superfans to rent, upon the announcement of the movie. Joybird, a furniture company, offered an extravagant selection of seating decorated in the style of the Barbie Dreamhouse. Soon after, Burger King offered a limited-edition Barbie cheeseburger in Brazil topped with an unsettlingly pink sauce. The movie ensured its aesthetics were perfectly suited for social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok. Almost anything could be made into a Barbie trend simply if it fits into the "Barbie pink" aesthetic. A barbie inspired pasta recipe began trending on TikTok with thousands of food content creators worldwide trying it out and giving their two cents. There was an Architectural Digest tour of Barbie's house in the film and tons of memes posted across Instagram using various screencaps of Barbie and Ken from the movie. According to Axios, about half a million Barbie-related articles had been published in 2023, including analyses, essays, takeaways, and odes to all that Barbie represents in culture. It seems, Gerwig's Barbie will be supporting aesthetic cinema stills-focused Tumblr and Instagram accounts for decades to come.

The quantity of Barbie movie-related merchandise was also astounding. A clothing line with Gap, a collection with Bloomingdales, hot pink roller suitcases with luxury luggage Beis, a capsule collection with Superga, an elaborate makeup collection with Nyx Cosmetics, Barbie-themed accessories with Fossil, and even a full-on assortment of clothing and accessories at Hot Topic, which has recently developed into a haven for fandom obsession and millennial nostalgia was in the rounds. In total, these collaborations were worth at least $70 million to Warner Bros. and Barbie toymaker Mattel. And the importance of the media coverage the movie has received, from local TV news spots to articles in Architectural Digest and The New Yorker, is priceless. 

In celebration of the movie's release, London turned pink or as some called it "Barbie-esque". The iconic double-decker buses of London were covered with hot pink Barbie posters and a pink tardis appeared on the banks of Tower Bridge. The London Eye, Trafalgar Square, and South Bank all lit up with hot pink LED lights commemorating the European premiere of the Barbie movie. People flocked the streets of London, head to toe in eye-catching pink attire celebrating the release of the movie.

Rival studio executives praised Warner Brothers and Mattel for running what they call a marketing campaign that will stand the test of time. According to one of these sources, an official stated, "Barbie will be very, very profitable," with the Warner Brothers correctly focusing on the cool and fun aspect of the film rather than nostalgia. 

The Barbie Movie marks a new beginning for movie marketing and promotion. It has paved the way for films to take on more innovative, avant-garde, and culturally contemporary sets of marketing strategies rather than just the good old campaigns of trailer releases and billboards. It has set new standards for movie marketing and inspired filmmakers worldwide to do the same for years to come. 

Bibliography

McClintock, P. (2023, July 21). Barbiemania: How Warner Bros. and Mattel painted the World Pink and created marketing magic. The Hollywood Reporter. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/barbie-movie-marketing-campaign-1235534537/ 

Kim, W. (2023, July 21). This Summer’s biggest hit? the Barbie marketing team. Vox. https://www.vox.com/2023/7/21/23801727/barbie-movie-marketing-budget-pr-hype-mattel

Forge, K. (2023, July 13). London turned pink for the celeb-studded “Barbie” premiere Last night. Secret London. https://secretldn.com/london-turned-barbie-pink/

McLaren, B. (2023, July 13). Barbie movie: How the marketing campaign has got everyone talking. BBC News. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-66184513