Unless you have taken up permanent residency under a rock, you’ve probably noticed the fluorescent pink – or, more accurately, Mattel’s trademarked Pantone 219C – that seems to have crept its way onto every billboard and social media ‘for you’ page in the last few months.
But let’s face it, the posters are old news – since then we’ve been inundated with stills from the movie on digital out-of-homes and 20-second clips across our media feeds (regardless of our carefully-curated algorithms). Right now, it’s all about the pink feeding frenzy for Barbie-themed merchandise.
We all know about the birth of Barbie-core (her very own fashion trend), the international shortage of pink paint and that Mattel has spent upwards of $100m on marketing so far – but it’s no surprise really. The Greta-Gerwig produced movie is Barbie’s first ever live-action film appearance – for a fashion icon that came out in 1959, she’s been positively camera-shy until now.
Touching four generations over the past 64 years; this movie has been a long time coming, and now there’s no stopping it. What has been particularly notable is the extent to which those behind Barbie have gone beyond the immediately obvious – this is so much more than a few movie-themed dolls, some hastily-designed t-shirts and a pair of pink high heels.
In 2023, Barbie is everywhere.
It seems that no-one can resist the allure of collaborating with the Warner Bros. film. Mattel has signed licensing deals with more than 100 brands, meaning whether it’s dressing, living, or even brushing your teeth like Barbie (yes, that’s a thing), everyone wants a piece of the doll-like fantasy.
This summer’s officially licensed Barbie-mania looks likely to give franchise owners like Mattel a boost in confidence when it comes to fully utilising partnerships and collaborations to generate additional interest and income – something which is crucial in an industry where ticket box office sales have not bounced back to pre-pandemic levels.
“We are long past the days when just slapping a Batman logo on a lunchbox would do. It’s a lot more holistic than that,” License Global’s Ben Roberts told the Guardian.
“Licensed products are not just linked to a movie, they are part of a brand’s lifecycle. Fandom has become such a large part of our culture now. And fandom is the biggest driver for licensing.
“From the studio’s point of view, too, merchandising is increasingly important in guaranteeing overall profitability, ” he concluded.
So, as the marketing movie of the summer hits UK cinemas, here’s a round-up list of some of the most interesting and unexpected brands to have jumped on the Barbie bandwagon.
How to live like Barbie
As if they took ‘in a Barbie world’ too literally, Airbnb has come out with a real-life Malibu Dream House.
Bubblegum pink and nothing short of an assault on the senses, the rental brand is offering guests the chance to stay in the mansion and go through Ken’s neon wardrobe, lounge by the pool and even take home a set of custom Impala skates.
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With a percentage of profits being donated to Save the Children, who would past up a once-in-the-lifetime opportunity to live, or rather rent, like Barbie?
But AirBnB isn’t the only hotel brand catching onto the global trend. Notably, Kuala Lumpa’s Grand Hyatt has full a 14-room themed Barbie floor and bar, while for an experience closer to home, many London hotels have also embraced the full pink experience, including The Henrietta Hotel and The Mayfair Hotel.
How to look like Barbie
Perhaps the most obvious category of all, many fashion brands have released a variety of themed garments and accessories.
Fashion
Leading the pack is fashion e-tailer Boohoo, which has unveiled a limited edition, ready-to-wear Barbie capsule collection. Hollister and Bloomingdale’s in-house label Aqua have also joined the trend, both creating exclusive lines inspired by the upcoming movie.
GAP has contributed to the trend with a selection of trademarked logo staples, Zara has snazzy outerwear, PacSun has created some excellent retro loungewear, while Sweaty Betty has gone all-in with a pink sportswear collection.
Meanwhile, sleepwear brand Karen Mabon has paid homage to the original 1959 Barbie with a range of whimsical candy-coloured looks.
Reflecting on the nostalgic collaboration with the iconic doll brand and its new contemporary appeal the brand’s founder, Mabon commented: “The archive is huge, and I got to see Barbie as an astronaut and a career woman, and just how she could be – everything!
“It was special to be able to play and experiment in her world again and see how she plays into mine.”
Accessories
When it comes to accessories, Barbie enthusiasts are spoilt for choice. At the higher end of the spectrum, Fossil has come out with elegant three-hand watches and branded cross bags, while Kipling’s has introduced a range of magenta-coloured bags.
Primark has branded wearable towels, while Crocs is offering pink sandals and even pinker Jibbitz. And Claire’s is offering trademarked products ranging anything from pink sequinned notebooks, to, well, more pink sequinned items – okay, so they all have that sparkly touch in common.
Aldo has gone one further however, releasing sparkly bags, glamorous strappy sandals and embellished trainers that come packaged in classic Barbie-inspired ‘display-case’ packaging, adding an extra touch of whimsy and a nostalgic nod to the original dolls.
Beauty
Many UK skincare brands have captured the Barbie spirit, such as Montagne Jeunesse 7th Heaven‘s new pamper collection, GlossyBox UK‘s new themed cleansing range and Boots’ suncare brand Soltan‘s summer partnership with the Warner Bros film, completed with an integrated campaign produced by advertising agency Pearl & Dean.
Not to be outdone, makeup brands like Fenty, Opi and PÜR, and nail polish brand have all jumped on board with their own unique Barbie-themed twists, while NYX Cosmetics has unveiled a London pop-up alongside its new collection.
Getting around, Barbie-style
Known for her private jet and iconic open top Corvette, fans may have to manage their expectations just a little with this next category.
Transport
Barbie fever has hit London, sparing no iconic features in its wake. Many of the city’s classic red double decker buses, blue police boxes and black cabs have gone – yes, you guessed it – pink.
Hi Barbie 🙋🏼♀️💖 Be sure to tag us in your photos and clips if you spot a #Barbie bus out and about this weekend 📸 #OOH #OOHAdvertising #Film pic.twitter.com/QExqS06JHA
— Global (@global) July 7, 2023
Global, the media and entertainment agency behind some of the promotional double-decker buses, took to social media to ask fans to keep an eye out for these Barbie-wrapped buses. But let’s be honest, how could anyone possibly miss them?
In an exciting fusion of fashion and travel, fans can zip around like Barbie too, as roller skate brand Impala releases its trademarked ‘Bright Yellow Lightspeed Inline Skates’, similar to the pair sported by Margot Robbie in the film.
How to eat like Barbie
Popping up in East London, Proper Snacks, a popcorn maker, has opened a themed store for a limited time, providing fans with the opportunity to indulge in their favourite snacks.
Drink brand Swoon has introduced a limited-edition pink lemonade, accompanied by a campaign initiative that will donate 10% of the sales to Mattel’s Dream Gap Project. This project aims to empower young girls to dream big and challenge gender inequality.
And just when you think you’ve seen it all, Burger King has released a pink barbie burger. Admittedly, its currently only available in Brazil (boo!), but word on the street says we shouldn’t count it out of other the chain’s other country’s incorporating it.
Kris Jenner works hard but the @Barbie marketing team works harder https://t.co/aIymQA4yJJ
— OLIPOP (@drinkolipop) July 12, 2023
How to do loads-of-other-stuff like Barbie
It is perhaps better for this penultimate section to be left as ‘other stuff’, because there’s an abundance of other branded product on offer that shares nothing in common except for being delightfully Barbie-ified.
To start, toothbrush company Moon has introduced sparkling pink toothpaste accompanied by a coordinating electric toothbrush, allowing fans to achieve teeth as pearly white as Barbie’s plastic ones.
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The summer’s array of fun-themed accessories includes FUNBOY’s Mattel trademarked speedboat pool floats, which have garnered attention on Instagram.
Hair brands, Chi and L’Oreal have both released Mattel-approved flat irons and hair straighteners that perfectly pair with Kitsch’s rollers and covers.
Other branded collaborations include film-themed homeware accessories which range from Dragon glassware and HMV neon light display cases to themed Homesick candles and branded Ruggable rugs.
Moving to perhaps the more traditional type of brand collaborations, Argos has revealed it’s own collection of Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling-resembling dolls, equip with its own version of the movie’s dreamhouse.
Venturing slightly further afield into more unexpected collaborations, but still on the theme of games, Xbox’s Forza Horizon 5 has unveiled a realistic car game featuring the infamous corvette and Ken’s Hummer.
Not stopping there, Xbox has teamed up with Mattel to released pink on-brand controllers, X-box themed dolls and, most impressively, a custom wrapped Xbox Series S built into an actual Barbie DreamHouse. It doesn’t get any more Barbie-ception than this.
How to market like Barbie
Finally, if you’ve made it this far without succumbing to Barbie fever (which involves panic-buying an entirely new Barbie wardrobe mid-article), here’s a list of apps who didn’t release any collections or products, but instead partnered in another way with Barbie in some way to promote their brand.
Bumble is hoping users will swipe right and find their Ken, releasing a new Barbie-theme tool to deliver Barbie or Ken-themed compliments to other users. The campaign follows a Bumble survey that found three in four respondents said receiving praise from a potential romantic partner makes them more interested in that person.
Another popular app, Duolingo took to the pink carpet premier to show off their brand character, the Duolingo owl, in a PR stunt in keeping with the language-learning app’s social media personality and viral antics.
@duolingo honored Greta asked me to replace Margot #duolingo #languagelearning #barbie #barbiepremiere #barbiechallenge #barbenheimer ♬ original sound – Model Commissions OPEN – Diya
Not to be left out, Warner Bros’ has got in on its own action, releasing a Barbie Selfie Generator. Powering the viral campaigns is the AI-powered photo-editing app responsible for Netflix’s ‘Streamberry’ campaign.
Not quite apps, but still taking advantage of the PR opportunity, a few UK cities have taken part in social media marketing stunts.
London’s Barbican went viral after a social media post suggested they the Transport for London station had temporarily changed it’s name in support of the upcoming movie, while in Manchester, Hubbub’s ballot bins seemed to encourage members of the public to choose which movie of the summer will come out on top.
