We're all in Barbie Land and wondering how we got here. Barbie, the live-action movie from Warner Bros., enjoyed a blazing impact as a meme-friendly cultural phenomenon, earning its crown as the highest-grossing film of 2023. Along the way, the film inspired both controversy and peak "Hi Barbie" sweetness in movie theater bathrooms.
But how did Barbie become the biggest movie of the year? And is Barbie's marketing team available for hire?
From its very first trailer release at the tail end of 2022, Barbie was poised to make a splash. The film's director, Greta Gerwig, had previously earned a reputation for a sharp, quiet sensibility—not necessarily the person you'd expect to take on a blockbuster like Barbie.
Like Barbie, Gerwig's films typically explore feminine desire, but we only have to look to "Barbie Girl" by Aqua to show that Barbie, even with all her versatility, has historically represented something a little different. Despite this atypical fusion, it was clear from the star-studded trailer that Warner Bros. was aiming for a culture-defining film.
Variety reports that Warner Bros. spent an estimated $150 million on Barbie's marketing campaign, more than the movie budget itself ($145M on production). While few companies have the funds for going big like Barbie, what can marketers at other companies learn from Barbie's promotional plan and brand activations?
The Impact of the Barbie Movie on Toy Manufacturer Mattel
From May to August 2023, Mattel accrued $19.3M EMV worldwide from social content whose text mentioned "barbie.” After years of unsuccessfully launching a live-action Barbie movie, Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz was determined to make the vision a reality.
Image Credit: Warner Bros.
One factor that took Barbie to the next level was the creation of the ‘Barbenheimer’ campaign—the notion that fans could go to the theater to watch both Barbie and Oppenheimer. Fans debated which movie they should see first, sparking serious social media FOMO: to see just one movie would be missing out on a cultural experience.
Not only did the Barbie and Oppenheimer double-feature create more fanfare around the experience of watching the film, but it enabled Barbie—which might have typically been attended mainly by women—to reach a broader audience.
The movie also came with glossy musical collaborations, including "Barbie World" by ‘Black Barbie’ superstar Nicki Minaj and up-and-coming rapper Ice Spice. The track sampled Aqua's iconic "Barbie Girl.” Meanwhile, musician Billie Eilish wrote "What Was I Made For?" for the movie, a collaboration that Gerwig spoke to in her BBC interview.
While Warner Bros.’ marketing team deserves credit for the movie’s success, Mattel enjoyed a boost from the movie buzz. The data here reflects Barbie content in which creators tagged Mattel. We tracked the conversation around Mattel from September 2022 to August 2023. Here's a breakdown of the brand's needle-moving months:
April 2023: Warner Bros. released the viral Barbie Selfie Generator tool, allowing fans to replicate a meme in the style of the Barbie movie posters. During April, Mattel accrued a staggering reach of 2.9B worldwide, up 279% from March 2023. Additionally, the brand collected $17.8M EMV, and #Barbie generated $3.8M EMV via 367 creators.
July 2023: The Barbie Movie premiered. Decked out in pink, droves of fans attended movie theaters, catapulting Mattel to a jaw-dropping reach of 4.4B. Gerwig broke the opening weekend box office record for female directors, and the movie was well on its way to becoming Warner Bros. highest-grossing film.
Model and host Ashley Graham was one of Mattel’s top conversation-drivers thanks to the #BarbieDreamhouseChallenge, a four-part show by HGTV wherein stars build an IRL Barbie dream house. Overall, #Barbie accrued $18.1M EMV for Mattel, and the brand collected $44.6M EMV in July.
August 2023: Barbie cemented its status as the highest-grossing movie of 2023. #Barbie dipped to $4.1M EMV for Mattel. The company released its ‘Weird Barbie’ doll, modeled after actress Kate McKinnon.
In addition to these powerful activations, brands partnered with Barbie for their chance to be a part of the record-breaking movie. Here are a few of the most resonant Barbie brand collabs:
The Best Barbie Movie Brand Collaborations
Cinema partnerships with beauty brands have been a recent trend, but few have taken brand collaborations to dream-house heights.
We used our influencer marketing analytics to track brands that were boosted by the Barbie movie from May 2023 to September 2023. Here are the top brands on our list:
NYX Professional Makeup
The No. 2 brand for Barbie-obsessed posts, NYX Professional Makeup topped the charts thanks to its Barbie the Movie collection. Kicking off at the end of June, the limited-edition collection fueled $14.3M EMV in the time period monitored, earning mentions in 1.7k posts. Of this EMV total, $12.1M (84%) was generated in July alone. Additionally, #NYXCosmeticsXBarbieTheMovie generated a respective $8.4M and $2.4M EMV for NYX Professional Makeup and Mattel in July.
Beauty creator Sarah New (@sarahnewsfx on Instagram) stood out for an upbeat but unsettling makeover transformation that featured the collection, placing a consent-focused spin on Aqua's "Barbie Girl." Sarah inspired $1.0M EMV for NYX Professional Makeup, a 241% MoM spike.
NYX Professional Makeup limited-edition Barbie collection
According to NYX Professional Makeup, the partnership was a natural fit, with the film’s diverse cast aligning perfectly with the brand's core values. In keeping with these values, NYX Professional Makeup employed creative use of social media via a social-impact initiative wherein NYX Professional Makeup donated up to $25k with each usage of a Save the Children Barbie Instagram filter.
Chanel
In fashion, Chanel dominated Barbie movie activations. Jacqueline Durran, the costume designer for Barbie, was in touch with Chanel while dreaming up designs for the movie. A long-time collaborator with Chanel, Barbie actress Margot Robbie wore vintage Chanel whenever possible at premiere events, as well as in the film. #Barbie collected $4.7M EMV for Chanel, while #MargotRobbie inspired $4.6M.
Additionally, #DuaLipa—after the musician whose tune "Dance the Night" marked one of the most iconic scenes in the film—inspired another $4.1M EMV. Dua Lipa helped popularize the Barbie selfie poster, sharing herself as a mermaid Barbie, shortly before her Met Gala appearance in Chanel. In all, the brand netted $4.8M EMV during the time period monitored.
Image Credit: Warner Bros. and Mattel, via Elle Magazine
OPI
A Barbie movie bonanza isn't complete without *drumroll* pink nails. That's where OPI came in, at the ready for the girlies who skipped the salon appointment (though OPI is the "#1 nail salon brand worldwide").
While the brand didn't break into the Top 10 Barbie activations, we're including them here to show some love for nail care brands. OPI stood out from this set, with its Barbie content sparking $1.2M EMV during the time period monitored.
Aistė Haas (Hey Great Nails on YouTube) recommended OPI's mystic magenta for those after a Barbie look, inspiring $195.3k EMV. Meanwhile, Brandon Max (@itsbybrandon on TikTok) shared a morning routine in Barbie Land, consisting of opening your medicine cabinet to a slew of OPI nail polish with transformative powers ($112.2k EMV).
OPI gave consumers easy access to a Barbiecore look thanks to its OPI x Barbie the Movie collection, noting that "there are no limits to what the wearer can accomplish."
In the future, Mattel has plans for more franchise-based movies to expand its cinematic universe. We can’t wait to see which creators and brands take advantage of these incredible marketing opportunities.
Brands looking for initiatives that will expand their reach could benefit from learning the latest influencer marketing trends. Read the 2024 Influencer Marketing Trends Report.
Note: This article has been edited to clarify that while EMV surrounding Barbie was primarily attributed to Mattel, as creators tagged Mattel in their Barbie-related content, Warner Bros. Discovery was behind the marketing efforts for Barbie, and played a key role in the film’s promotional campaigns.