This Barbie Knows Marketing: How the Barbie Movie has become the Talk of the Town

With pink everywhere we turn it’s like we’ve stepped directly into the Dreamhouse!  Barbie is one of the most anticipated movies of the year, partly in thanks to the incredible marketing campaigns that seem to be on every corner.

But when does the Barbie movie come out? Nobody needs to ask this because advertisements are everywhere. With the pink sensation hitting our screens and injecting some much-needed colour into our lives it has us wondering, what made this marketing campaign stand out?

The Barbie Brand

Barbie has been gracing children’s toy boxes since the 1950s, with children all over the world growing up with the iconic doll. But those children grow up, so enter nostalgia.

Think Pink

It’s hard to see the colour pink without thinking of Barbie, with good reason. Pink has been Barbie’s official shade for decades and the movie hasn’t disappointed on that front from what we’ve seen so far, with the movie set creating a worldwide shortage of pink paint as the created Barbieland. Remaining authentic to the Barbie brand through and through.

Pink is so closely associated with Barbie now that creating billboard advertisements was easy, all they needed was a Barbie pink billboard with a date and everyone knew exactly what it was, now that’s the dream!

The Barbie Voice

Tone of voice is important for every brand, showing your audience that you are remaining authentic, which is what the Barbie movie does with expertise! Barbie’s cheerful, all-American tone is exactly what we think of when looking at Barbie, which Robbie has down to a T, but how else has the movie used Tone of Voice to create marketing campaigns that stand out?

Mattel has been creating Barbie’s for years, with a special range of ‘This Barbie…’ that has taught young girls that they can be whatever they want to be. The Barbie Movie has a variety of Barbies, from ‘This is President Barbie’ and ‘This Barbie is a Doctor’ to ‘This is Mermaid Barbie’ and more. This little phrase has been utilised for interactive content in their marketing campaign, appearing on TikTok filters and in Instagram captions. 

Keeping their messaging positive and inclusive is exactly what is making this brand tone of voice work!

Barbie is for Everybody

Barbie may be advertising with a whole lot of pink, but their message of inclusivity is appealing to everybody. Not only is the movie messaging that people can be whatever they want to be, but it’s empowering too! As a female-headed company, we love to see this!

Whilst Barbie is a children’s doll the marketing has managed to span generations. Pulling on age-old nostalgia and enticing new Barbie fans is no easy feat, but they’re really showing everyone that life in plastic really is fantastic! But how have they interested multiple generations?

Utilising social media has been a key part of the Barbie marketing strategy. Social media marketing is both popular and effective, it’s also great at spreading news quickly.

The Barbie Movie has used Instagram and TikTok to create a buzz for the movie, creating filters, hashtags and trends that appeal to new fans and nostalgic Barbie devotees alike. Brands may not always think to use social media in their marketing campaigns, but when platforms like Tiktok and Instagram drive sales for so many businesses, they’re not to be overlooked.

Barbie has become an influencer in her own right!

The Extra Barbie Sparkle

The Barbie Campaign is everywhere, but what has stopped it from being annoying and continuously kept fans excited for the release? It’s that extra Barbie Sparkle!

Have you tried typing Barbie into Google recently? Try it and see your entire screen sparkle its way to pink. Barbie hasn’t stopped pushing its brand. They have picked up on the attitudes of their potential viewers and are creating content that is purely good vibes, and these good vibes sell.

The Barbie Movie has also taken the classic movie premiere and turned it on its head, switching the red carpet for pink, whilst Margot Robbie has headlined in classic Barbie Style. Influencers from around the globe have been invited to premieres, showing off their pink carpet looks to their followers and raving about the movie. But nobody has outdone our titular star. Robbie has thrown herself into the pink theme, even going as far as to recreate looks from classic Barbies over the years (hello Enchanted Evening Barbie)!

Not only are we seeing that the Barbie casting was on point, it shows us that Greta Gerwig thought hard about her choices and knew exactly how to make the best Barbie movie yet (but let’s not forget about the classics, we’re looking at you Barbie as Rapunzel)!

Why Branding Works

Barbie’s branding has been authentic to the character whilst also being completely inclusive. Mattel has had brand issues in the past, but this will completely overshadow anything as it has reached such a huge scale!

Barbie had fans before, most of us grew up with a Barbie doll in the toy box or a favourite Barbie movie, but the reason this Barbie Movie is going to do so much better is due in part to nostalgia. Nostalgia marketing creates a positive feeling that makes us feel good, using our fond memories of childhood to lure us into their fun, pink Barbie wiles.

Mix this with the Barbie brand deals out there and we’re onto a winner.

Barbie Brand Deals

Working with other brands is always fun, bringing us brand collabs we could have only dreamed of when we were younger. Barbie Xbox controller in its own Barbie Dreamhouse box? We could have spent countless hours gaming with these whilst our parents begged us to go outside.

With fans planning to wear pink when heading to watch the iconic film it was only a matter of time before clothing brand deals appeared, providing everyone with the perfect pink outfit for the viewing and boosting excitement for the movie as plans to dress up are spread. 

Discover your Barbie Moment with Peaky Digital

The team at Peaky have loved watching this marketing campaign unfold, and we’re excited to watch the film! But we’re even more excited to help brands with their next marketing campaigns.

At Peaky Digital we specialise in digital marketing, helping you to create stand-out marketing campaigns with our team of SEO, PPC and Social Media experts. Get in touch today to find out more.