The idea was to engage Barbie and “Zoolander 2” fans and followers through a social marketing campaign and promotion via the @barbiestyle, @zoolander, and partners’ Instagram accounts. A storyline was developed around Barbie interacting with the key characters from “Zoolander 2” (in doll form) in a variety of hot spots, and photos of these interactions were posted on Instagram.

Leading up to the release of “Zoolander 2,” Mattel created one-of-a-kind dolls in the likeness of the film’s key characters -- including Derek Zoolander, Hansel, Mugatu, Valentina and Alexanya – and fans/followers of @barbiestyle, @zoolander and other partners’ Instagram accounts were treated to regular updates as Barbie, Derek and friends visited and posted pictures from hotspots in Los Angeles and New York. Shopping, lunches, workouts and spa appointments were all on the agenda, with the photos being shot at actual locations like A.O.C., SoulCycle, Chateau Marmont, Paramount Pictures, to name just a few. A total of 22 images were released, with locations in Los Angeles and New York. The final stop on Barbie and Derek’s tour was a walk down the red carpet at the “Zoolander 2” movie premiere wearing custom looks from Valentino. The images were released over the course of two weeks.

Fans and followers showed their excitement over the social media program through a significant number of “likes” and “comments” for each post. A total of 22 images were posted on @barbiestyle, @zoolander and partners’ Instagram accounts reaching over 7.6 million followers, with over 850,000 “likes” received on @barbiestyle alone. The campaign was picked up by a wide variety of press, including articles by Adweek, People, Daily Mail, The Drum, Pret-a-Reporter, MTV and many others.