Everyone Sees Themselves in the New Barbie—and That’s a Gold Mine for Brands
If it seems like Barbie pink is in all places proper now, that’s as a result of it’s.
Inspired by Greta Gerwig’s Barbie film, which lands in Canadian theatres July 21, Barbiecore, the ultra-feminine and overwhelmingly pink aesthetic, has taken over as the most important pattern of 2023. Searches for pink are at an all-time excessive, skyrocketing to peak reputation in July of this yr, in line with Google Trends, and the web obsession has seeped into the true world: Aside from official Barbie film collaborations (there are Barbie crocs, a shiny Barbie-inspired OPI nail polish line, a Barbie-fied model of Uno, to call a number of), shops have been inundated with pink merchandise—the whole lot from garments to sneakers to make as much as… meals.
An enormous driving issue behind the onslaught of Barbiecore? Barbie’s new model. Since the first Barbie was launched in 1959, the doll has lengthy been related along with her flowing blonde hair and unattainably skinny physique. It wasn’t till 2016 when Mattel launched Barbie Fashionistas—dolls that got here in 4 physique sorts and 7 pores and skin tones—did issues notably change. Gerwig’s new movie follows Fashionistas’ lead with a forged that displays the twenty first century Barbie. It options various leads together with Issa Rae, Simu Liu and America Ferrera, in addition to Hari Nef, the primary brazenly transgender girl signed to IMG Models. No longer is Barbie nearly skinny, white ladies; everyone can see themselves in at the moment’s inclusive Barbieland. And this mass attraction has manufacturers leaping on the Barbiecore bandwagon to succeed in wider audiences and attraction to a youthful demo that centres their values of their buying choices.
The energy of Barbie’s new model
Mattel, Barbie’s guardian firm which additionally produces widespread toys like Hot Wheels and American Girl Dolls, is aware of that range is vital to gross sales: Between 2011 and 2015, Barbie’s gross sales dropped by a 3rd. Mattel carried out a shopper research that discovered that Barbie was seen as vapid, shallow and super-white, and that her unrealistic physique was turning off younger women whose gross sales the corporate desperately wanted to court docket. So, they revamped the outdated doll and created Barbies with completely different physique sorts, a Barbie in a wheelchair and racially various Barbies underneath the Fashionistas line. Mattel noticed a 16 per cent soar in gross sales in 2016 after launching the brand new vary of dolls.
Even with the primary wave of promotion for the movie—do not forget that week when everybody was utilizing the “This Barbie Is…” filter?—Barbie is making it clear that anybody can put themselves in Barbie’s place. Barbie’s new socially aware model (and the film’s tackle the doll’s troubled historical past with feminism and variety) makes it engaging for corporations to companion with the bombshell blonde.
“Brands will attach themselves to another brand when they expect there to be a burst of attention and lots of discussion about it,” says Joanne McNeish, an affiliate professor of promoting at Toronto Metropolitan University. In this case, manufacturers are hoping to connect themselves to Barbie’s new picture for a gross sales (and fame) enhance. And in fact, “they’re hoping that the movie does really well, which means that the associated sales lift will last longer.”
Take a scroll by your fave on-line procuring websites and also you’ll see an limitless quantity of Barbie-inspired merchandise. There is a Malibu DreamHouse listed on AirBnb (in partnership with Mattel), Barbie-inspired pool inflatables from Funboy, a complete line of Barbiecore clothes at Zara (different quick style manufacturers like the Gap and Forever 21 have Barbie collections this summer time too), a sizzling pink Barbie baggage assortment at Shay Mitchell’s model Beis, a shiny Barbie line of eyeshadows and lip glosses at NYX Cosmetics and there’s even a Barbie oral care assortment.
Brands know that range is nice for business, particularly in the event that they’re hoping to court docket younger customers. Sixty two per cent of Gen Z and 61 per cent of Millennials say that racial and ethnic range is nice for society—and that viewpoint trickles down into their buying choices. According to Mintel, a market intelligence company, Gen Z customers are dedicated to range and inclusion (even when it doesn’t instantly have an effect on them) and two-thirds agree that conventional gender roles are outdated. This technology is actively searching for out manufacturers which might be consultant of their advertising. According to a survey by Deloitte of over 1,000 world executives, the highest-growing manufacturers are dedicated to equitable outcomes of their workforce, market and society in ways in which their lower-growth friends are usually not. It’s a no brainer for manufacturers to current a various picture—and a Barbiecore assortment is a simple method to take action.
The way forward for Barbiecore
Just as a result of Barbie is having a second, it doesn’t imply it’s risk-free for manufacturers to leap on the pink prepare. “If it’s inconsistent with who you are, consumers will see that you’re just doing it to be a part of this fad,” says McNeish. Partaking in a fad would possibly lead to a short-term gross sales enhance, but it surely might in the end be a waste of each funds and time—particularly if it finally ends up alienating your core buyer base. “Consumers are savvy enough to recognize when you’re being inauthentic,” says McNeish. Corporate Pride campaigns, for instance, have been known as out for “rainbow washing” as slapping a rainbow flag on merchandise throughout June is a short lived showcase of allyship if it’s not backed by motion. For occasion, Canadian airways like WestJet have confronted criticisms for celebrating Pride publicly however solely providing female and male gender choices for bookings.
Plus, whether or not Barbiecore has a protracted runway, or is destined to pile up in landfills, is but to be seen. Especially with critics stating that Barbie is a image of rampant overconsumption and the worst of capitalism’s excesses, manufacturers would possibly wish to think twice in regards to the message they’re sending with a Barbie-inspired line earlier than leaping on the pattern.
That being stated, whereas the overindulgent, hyper-feminine, maximalist Barbiecore aesthetic might come and go, one factor’s for positive: Centring range in branding won’t. As shopper bases develop into extra vocal about supporting range, manufacturers that wish to develop their gross sales might want to talk that their corporations are on the identical web page, too. In reality, 59 per cent of Canadian customers choose to be related to manufacturers that align with their values—range being considered one of them. And with Barbie’s new give attention to inclusivity lending Mattel a bump in gross sales and picture, different manufacturers seeking to appeal to younger clients are joyful to take a web page out of the toy firm’s playbook.
