For much of her 58 years, Barbie was an un-missable icon, and category leader, with over a billion dolls sold. But in recent years the brand had lost its way causing a steady three-year sales decline. Brand equity studies showed that all moms saw was a poor role model with blonde hair, a pink car, and an unrealistic figure.

Our challenge was clear: We needed to prove Barbie isn’t just a pretty face at odds with Millennial moms’ aspirations for their daughters. We would do this by reminding moms of Barbie’s original purpose—inspiring and nurturing the limitless potential in every girl—and by showing them that when a girl plays with Barbie she imagines everything she can become.

We started the conversation online, with a series of simple, shareable social posts. Using the hashtag #ThrowBackThursday, we highlighted all of the empowering professions Barbie had held through the years and reminded our audience of Barbie’s long forgotten female leadership. We then followed our effort with a film. Our film took our audience inside the world of a girl’s imagination, as she imagined everything she could become. It reminded Millennial moms of their own experience playing with Barbie—recognizing that the dream to become a scientist or a teacher at 20 came from pretending to be one with Barbie at four.

By shifting the conversation from what Barbie looks like to what she inspires in little girls, we successfully shifted brand perception among Millennial moms, reclaimed Barbie’s narrative from the media and ended eight consecutive quarters of sales decline, returning Barbie to growth for the first time in three years.*

The success of this campaign proves emotional brand advertising’s unassailable power to drive business growth and spark meaningful conversation in culture. It proves that creative storytelling driven by insightful strategy can not only transform a brand’s narrative but also increase sales.

* Mattel 2013- 2015 Annual Reports and Bloomberg – Barbie’s Holiday Sales Grow for First Time in Four Years. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-02-01/mattel-earnings-top-estimates-as-barbie-shows-signs-of-rebound