Marketing In The News: Greta Gerwig’s ‘Barbie’ Starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling

The Barbie Doll has been around since 1959 and is arguably one of the most well known children's toys out there. Like many others, Barbie was a huge part of my childhood and why I took a particular interest in the upcoming live action movie. As a little girl, I can remember having multiple different kinds of barbies each with their own special set of clothes, and getting angry at the fact I couldn't bend her arms. I also had every single animated barbie movie known to man. 

For the first time in history though, there will finally be a live action Barbie movie, which needless to say has caused a lot of talk. A current article by Indie Wire sheds some light on all of the details for the upcoming movie stating that, "The news marked the famed blonde-haired doll's 60th anniversary to premiere in theaters on July 21, 2023. Robbie, who will star as Barbie opposite Ryan Gosling's Ken, is slated to produce the film through her production company LuckyChap Entertainment. Mattel Films and HeyDay Films will co-produce". It is important to note that Mattel Films who will be co-producing this film, is an in house film studio launched by the Mattel brand that created Barbie. The article goes on to share some important insight from some of the actors slated to star in the upcoming film. The actress Margot Robbie states that, "the film comes with a lot of baggage and a lot of nostalgic connections". The film will also be, "pure comedy, and no tears will be shed onscreen, or in the theater audience, for that matter". It makes sense that as a tribute to the doll the movie will shed some light on all of the conversations (good and bad) that have surrounded Barbie over the years, and the direction of making it a comedy is a smart marketing strategy. The cast list is also sure to bring in many viewers as Will Ferrell, Simu Liu, America Ferrera, and Dua Lipa are set to star in the new movie just to name a few. 

The doll's website mattle.com lists the companies value proposition and can be found in the about us section of their website. Mattel's purpose is "to empower the next generation to explore the wonder of childhood and reach their full potential", and their mission is "to create innovative products and experiences that inspire, entertain, and develop children through play".

Barbie has without a doubt become one of the best examples of successful marketing for a franchise, and their tactics are definitely ones we could all learn from. Most recently, earned media has been the biggest marketing component of the upcoming movie that I have seen so far. The best part about earned media is that Barbie doesn't even need to lift a finger (not that she can anyways). Currently, the movie isn't set to be released for another three months, and already memes, audios from the trailers, pictures, and more have been shared all over social media. New product launching is also something Barbie is no stranger to. The product life cycle of barbie has almost never matured as Barbie has come out with a new version of herself every single year. Barbie is known for being anything, from an astronaut, to a chef, princess, doctor, photographer, scuba diver, and even a dog trainer earning her the title as one of the most diverse fashion dolls on the market. This versatility has allowed the brand to have a lot of wiggle room when coming up with new product ideas. It is hard to say this early on if the movie will receive positive reviews after it come out but who knows, this movie may even have Simon Sinek saying "that's remarkable"!

While the Barbie franchise has met a lot of success, Barbie also has her fair share of challenges. In the past, one of Barbies biggest competitors was Bratz Dolls. These dolls were marketed towards "cooler" more trendy teens and gave Barbie a run for her money. Barbie also began to receive a lot of criticism as people started pointing out the lack of diversity, unrealistic body proportions, and excessive materialism that she represented. As other big doll brands continue to expand, Barbie has tried to address these issues and also created a greater diversity of dolls featuring dolls with disabilities, people of color, and different body types. In particular, it seems that this live action movie is also attempting to make light of the negative reviews they have gotten about their dolls over the years. 

That is also what makes there marketing for this movie so unique, as they have found something new to market despite using almost every idea for Barbie possible. They are also expanding their target audience by re-captivating the people who loved their dolls when they were children, as adults now. 

Overall, I think the marketing approach for Barbie has been very good, and one of the only things I would suggest is possibly including more marketing on their Instagram or other social media platforms about Barbie from the past in every decade in order to drive older costumers back to their brand and increase the nostalgia.

If I were the brand manager for Barbie I would suggest that they include more marketing on Tik-Tok and Instagram with real people talking about the Barbie doll or holding it in pictures. At the moment their social media is only filled with the dolls "talking", and I think the brand could really benefit from coming off as more authentic by filming a documentary about the making of Barbie or interviewing little girls about what they like about Barbie!

In this assignment, I learned about the importance of brand marketing and how to get a crowd talking about your product. I also learned about the different strategies the Barbie franchise has used to stay relevant and how to address negative feedback about your brand. For the foreseeable future Barbie will continue to stay relevant. 

IndieWire Article: Barbie Movie

Mattel Inc. (Barbie): https://shop.mattel.com/pages/barbie