#Barbiecore: How Warner Bros. successfully marketed 'Barbie'
"Life in plastic, it's fantastic," and no one can tell us otherwise. From clothing to accessories, look up any brand or walk into any store, and you will get 50 shades of pink as the team of Greta Gerwig's Barbie released in theaters. And, this is thanks to uber-promotional strategies. From real-life Barbie dreamhouse to turning Google pink, here's how makers marketed the film.
A nationwide shortage of pink color
"The world ran out of pink," said production designer Sarah Greenwood in an interview. She explained that the construction of the expansive rosy-hued Barbieland caused a shortage of the fluorescent shade of Rosco paint. The company that supplied paint to the entertainment industry said it used as much paint as it had but it was in short supply due to COVID-19-related loss in 2022.
Barbie DreamHouse was available on Airbnb
Ahead of Barbie's release on July 21, Airbnb listed "one-of-a-Ken" offer- a pink oceanside mansion in Malibu, California where you could book your stay in Ken's bedroom. A giant seaside mansion was given a massive makeover and turned into a DreamHouse in partnership with Airbnb with grill and pool floaties that spell Ken's name, and other attractions. It also had a spectacular aerial photoshoot.
Google turned pink
Even Google joined the "Barbiecore" movement and turned everything into pink and sparkling elements on the screens. Describing this promotional move as "iconic," fans praised Barbie and expressed their excitement for the film about how it evoked nostalgia from their childhood. Every time you type the film's name, characters or crew on the search bar, Google turns your screen into magical and sparkling pink.
'You love or hate Barbie, this movie is for you!'
"The word 'hate' is tricky for marketing and we don't usually use it," explained Warner's global marketing head Josh Goldstine to Variety. But they used "You love or hate Barbie, this movie is for you!," as "we wanted to recognize there were legions of Barbie fans, but that Barbie had quite a history and there are people who felt like Barbie wasn't for them."
Brand collaborations
Barbie's extensive and expensive promotion included collaborations with as many as 30 brands, reportedly, including Xbox, Nike, Gap, Crocs, Fossil, Bloomingdales, Béis, and Burger King. One can build an entire closet with the number and variety of merch these brands launched to promote Barbie. Eventually, "it stopped becoming a marketing campaign and took on the quality of a movement," said Goldstine.
'Provocative' teaser trailer
Goldstine also spoke about the "very provocative" teaser trailer that they put before the showings of Avatar: The Way of Water which "is maybe not your first thought for Barbie." "It had music from 2001: A Space Odyssey" in a homage to Stanley Kubrick's film. It made a bold statement that this movie wasn't "going to be exactly what you think it is."
