For 57 years Barbie has been focused on enabling girls explore their potential – she has had over 150 careers. Our inspiration was Barbie’s founder Ruth Handler: “Barbie always represented the fact that a woman has choices.”

In order to reconnect with millennial moms (who had likely played with Barbie as kids but had had their opinions changed by Barbie’s polarizing press) we knew we needed to show the brand’s true story, and evolve it from “plastic” and “perfection” to one of greater purpose and meaning.

Our idea was to unlock for the world Barbie’s true purpose: that it nurtures the potential in girls. We needed to remind people that when girls play with Barbie, they imagine all the possibilities their futures hold.

We knew we needed to reach our audience on the social platforms where the war on Barbie was taking place.

The film "Imagine the Possibilities" brought Barbie's noble purpose to life, showing that when girls play with Barbie, they imagine all the possibilities their futures hold.

Hidden cameras capture the public’s reactions as five girls’ improvise live, setting free their imaginations for real in the adult world. The film then cuts back to a girl’s bedroom where she’s playing with Barbie: the reveal being how when girls play with Barbie, they’re exploring what their futures might hold.

The film ran on paid placements on social channels, but was picked up as a news story and had significant reach globally.

Having warmed up our audience we then followed the film up by hijacking popular social hashtags: #TBT and #MakeUnderMonday to fuel the now positive conversation around Barbie.

The campaign returned Barbie to be #1 hottest girls toy at Christmas 2015 once more.

• Drove the business: it reversed a three-year sales decline. Barbie logged 8% growth in the quarter after launch, resulting in the first revenue increase for the Mattel parent brand in over two years. Once the effect of the campaign was seen, Goldman Sachs cited it as the reason to recommend buying Mattel stock after a 9.7% rise in stock price.

• Drove earned reach globally: it was picked up in over 150 publications globally, reaching far beyond its media spend. The film received 1.2 Million shares and over 50 Million video views, 40 Million organic, over 700 Million PR impressions and two of the highest ever scores for attention and likeability.

• Drove a perception shift: it changed the public’s attitude. Post launch of the “Imagine the Possibilities” film, sentiment towards Barbie was over 80% positive.