We decided to bring the Barbie movie launch to life via a cross-media strategy that could turn the world around our target audiences into Barbieland. Following a tactical approach, we produced unprecedented streaming and TV activations reinforced by a solid digital media plan, reaching effectively both adoring fans and the skeptics.

Our creative spin to a number of media channels - the pink, the retro vibes, the packaging - painted a new scenario for our plastic icon and people’s perception gradually chanced. As a result, Barbie movie smashed any box office record, becoming a culturally defining moment of the year.

Barbie is a contemporary icon. Queen. Pink pioneer. But with a nostalgic and at times polarizing legacy rooted in a tangible product, we needed to shift consumer mindset from a 50+ year-old plastic doll into the fresh, can’t-miss movie event of the summer.

Stunning visuals and an all-stars cast certainly helped triggering global curiosity, but the movie also ran the risk of getting stereotyped even before its screen time, based on assumptions and clichés that are now culturally overcome.

We saw this as a double opportunity: we would target different audiences that sat opposite each other on the Barbie connection spectrum and make them complementary in producing the unprecedented reaction we wanted for the movie launch.

We firmly believed Barbie could reach far beyond the preconceptions it might have triggered, and we used this conviction to inform every aspect of our campaign.

To hit an ambitious box office goal, we had to show that Barbie movie had something for everybody, whether already a Barbie admirer or a skeptic.

As we needed a deeper understanding of how to best harness the passion of these ardent advocates, and yet how to convert non-fans, the first step was a thorough analysis of our main target audience and we found that 53% of our prototypical audience had a love for nostalgic content.

With nostalgia being a constant element in contemporary culture, we could leverage the fact that Barbie has been an icon-doll for over six decades: anyone from each of those generations would be able to relate.

The mission: converting the enthusiasm for Barbie’s plastic heritage into engagement from our main target audience while also inspiring intrigue from non-Barbie fans, for unprecedented levels of excitement making Barbie movie a defining pop-culture moment.

With plenty of fun nostalgic elements to play with - the Dreamhouse, the Fashion, the Pink - we brought each of them to life with a modern, creative twist. Reverting the typical movie marketing approach, we provided core Barbie fans with the tools to shout our message, amplifying the FUN to convert broader audiences.

We carried a thorough analysis of our main target audience and found an illuminating insight: 53% of our prototypical audience had a love for nostalgic content. We then leveraged the fact that Barbie has been a leading player in mass consumers’ imagery for over six decades, meaning anyone from each of those generations would be able to tap into that yearning for the past.

Instead of talking to little girls playing with the Barbie Dreamhouse, we went for their Moms and other proud Millennials and Gen Xers, speaking directly to their inner child.

We aimed to create an UNMISSABLE cinematic event, activating an army of fans to make Barbie the cross-generational cultural moment of the summer via these key steps:

• Unlock more accessibility beyond our core audience, playing in media intersections where we could put a contemporary spin on personal reference points, particularly those with high affinities amongst the Barbie fans (pop culture, social, streaming, and tech).

• Inspiring massive opening weekend turnout through contemporized nostalgia.

• Use a cross-channel media approach to stand out, especially on social. We activated a movement among the Barbie faithful, amplifying our media dollars and fueling excitement for a true zeitgeist moment.

• Trigger FOMO among non-fans audiences. Our OOH installations, experiential activations, and linear tie-ins would be so good our fans won’t be able to stop themselves from playing along on social.

During Prime Week and opening week, Amazon was all pink with a custom Alexa Barbie theme and matching homepage.

Pinterest had a fully-explorable 3D Dreamhouse with hidden movie unlockables, while a breakthrough Snap lens let fans turn iconic landmarks into Barbieland versions.

Pre-streaming nostalgic had their Roku City screensaver turning to Barbieland, plus 24-hour themed takeover of the Roku Home Screen.

We took over 18 minutes of The Bachelorette - an unprecedented on-air integration - with a Barbie-themed group date, complete with Bachelors feeling the Kenergy in iconic Ken outfits, a talent intro by Simu Liu, and a stylish custom Barbie Movie trailer.

On the opening weekend we turned the world pink with takeovers across all Conde Nast and iHeart Media digital and social properties, plus life-size Barbie Boxes in theaters and malls anywhere, giving everybody a chance to step into (and post about) Barbie’s world.

• Barbie’s takeover of Amazon scored over 2 BILLION impressions and the custom Alexa theme had 4.5M interactions: the largest custom Alexa theme to date.

• Our Pinterest Virtual Dream Home became the largest Pin Extension ever, with engagement rates 18% over historical performance.

• Snap Users were obsessed with the lenses, racking up 4x the share rate of any other entertainment integration ever.

• Our Roku partnership scored 173M impressions across key audiences.

• Our Bachelorette integration surpassed other linear airings in search engagement by 60x.

With the help of our campaign that got Barbie fans turn up, create a FOMO that didn’t keep the sceptics at home. $162M made Barbie queen of the Box Office with the biggest opening weekend of any film in 2023, and even becoming the first movie solo-directed by a woman to break the $1B Box Office Threshold.

Life in plastic truly is fantastic!