Barbie-core has officially swept the globe as Greta Gerwig’s long-awaited Margot Robbie vehicle grossed $337million on its first weekend out – proving its enormous $150million marketing budget was money well spent.
Warner Bros. reportedly pumped $5million more than the film’s entire $145million production budget to make sure everybody, everywhere, was thinking pink – a figure which was already been recouped more than two times over.
The marketing juggernaut spanned everything from a real life Malibu Barbie DreamHouse Airbnb, so obnoxiously pink it can be seen 10 miles away, to a HGTV (owned by Warner Bros.) airing a full four part Barbie DreamHouse Challenge special – with more than 100 clothing, lifestyle brands cashing in.
They also made sure Barbie fans of all backgrounds could get their hands on themed outfits ready for the movie: Forever 21 and Gap both released collections, while pricey Balmain unveiled a hoody with a Barbie pink twist and a $1,350 price tag.
Unaffiliated companies also grappled for their moment in the limelight: one Dubai-based media company’s video of a gigantic 3D doll breaking free from her box and stepping out in front of the Burj Khalifa got more than 3million views since Friday.
Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling in Greta Gerwig’s Barbie movie which raked in $377million around the globe in its opening weekend
The traveling exhibit is in LA. Pictured: Inside Barbie’s Interstellar Rocket
Eye Studio based in Dubai released a viral video of a CGI Barbie kicking her way through the plastic and stepping out of her box in front of the Burj Khalifa
Barbie¿s opening weekend was $337M. That¿s nearly 2x Oppenheimer¿s $174M.
Warner Brother’s insane ¿Operation Barbie Summer¿ is a big part of that success.
These are 50 of the team’s most amazing marketing stunts:
1. 3D ad in front of Burj Khalifapic.twitter.com/MJAUVSGSa5
— Aakash Gupta ¿¿ Product Growth Guy (@aakashg0) July 25, 2023
Online, the Barbie x Crocs collaboration is entirely sold out, though the Ruggable x Barbie products remain available for purchase, for those in search of a more permanent pink-inspired home accessory.
If you’ve Googled the names of the stars of the film, or director Greta Gerwig in recent days, the search engine flashes several seconds of pink light bursts over the results.
Brands that are not such obvious franchise partners like Progressive Insurance and General Motors created custom Barbie TV and digital ads. Progressive’s always smiling spokeswoman – Flo – even walked the Barbie pink carpet at its premiere.
Bloomingdale’s flagship NYC store has devoted its entire front window display to a Barbie DreamHouse installation, while big box stores like Target and Walmart have Barbie pool floats, bedding, and of course dolls adorning their aisles.
For a more fully-immersed experience, the traveling World of Barbie exhibit offers fans a chance to experience life-sized versions of the toys they used to love – including Barbie’s DreamCamper van and her Interstellar Rocket for $34.50.
Some of the pre-opening obsession with the movie is of course due the dozens and dozens of interviews Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling have provided.
The two stars sat for interviews that included Gosling telling GQ how to dress like Ken, Robbie taking Architecture Digest on a tour of the DreamHouse, and the pair showing off friendship and chemistry in conversation after conversation, while still partially inhabiting their characters.
Mattel, which owns the Barbie brand, as well as Hot Wheels, American Girl Doll and Fisher-Price, sees the movie marketing’s cultural resonance as an excellent opportunity to capitalize on growth potential.
Margot Robbie attends the European premiere of Barbie in London July 12, 2023
The global Barbie marketing campaign is one of the most extensive commercial creative efforts in recent memory – its budget was reportedly more than the entire budget of the film itself
Various campaign efforts for the summer blockbuster have sprung up all over the world. A Barbie DreamHouse exhibit shown here was installed in Berlin
The Barbie x Crocs collaboration is entirely sold out. The warm-weather shoe is perfect for the July release of the film
Inside the World of Barbie exhibit in which fans can pose for photos inside booths featuring Barbie’s tagline ‘You Can Be Anything’
The traveling World of Barbie exhibit, where fans can experience life inside various Barbie settings – the DreamHouse, the DreamCamper, and the Barbie Interstellar Rocket
The film’s stars, Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, sat for dozens and dozens of interviews to relentlessly promote the film – mostly given halfway in character
If you Google Greta Gerwig – the film’s director – the search engine flashes several seconds of pink light bursts over the results
Ashley Graham presenting HGTV’s Barbie DreamHouse Challenge
Ashley Graham hosted a four-part Barbie DreamHouse Challenge, in which teams of HGTV stars transform a southern California home into a real-life DreamHouse
‘The bigger opportunity for us is going to be outside the toy aisle,’ the brand’s chief operating office Richard Dickson told the Wall Street Journal. ‘That is the drive for where we see the monetization of the brand going forward.’
According to the Journal, Mattel has been approached by a seemingly infinite number of brands looking to partner with the film.
In some of those agreements, a brand pays Mattel a flat licensing fee, while others will give Mattel a five to fifteen percent cut of sales.
It’s not clear whether Mattel has a back-end deal with Warner Bros. for the film, but Jefferies estimates that the studio paid Mattel between $25 and $50million to make the movie.
The man behind the hardest working team in Hollywood, Josh Goldstine, Warner Bros.’ president of global marketing, said that some brands were incredibly eager to jump on the Barbie bandwagon and capitalize on the buzz the movie was generating.
‘Brands wanted to become part of this because they saw the film was finding its way into culture in such a dynamic way,’ he told Variety. ‘It stopped becoming a marketing campaign and took on the quality of a movement.’
In Australia, a makeover of Sydney’s iconic Bondi Iceberg’s Swimming Club ensured that the club and pool were Barbie ready
Other Mattel brands, such as Little People and Uno, are also ready for Barbie summer, as the brand releases versions of the toys dressed as characters from the film and Barbie card decks
‘The reason people think we spent so much is that it’s so ubiquitous. That’s a combination of paid media and how many partners came to play with us,’ he continued.
‘Because it pierced the zeitgeist, it has the impression that we spend so much. In fact, we spent responsibly for an event movie.’
Goldstine added that the ongoing praise and awe over his team’s work is something he’s enjoyed, particularly when it crosses into the realm of poking some fun at the mammoth effort.
‘Someone took a picture of a pink sunset and thanked the work of the Warner Bros. marketing department. I thought that was pretty amusing,’ he said.
