Out-of-home, but still in Barbie’s World

Advertisements for Oppenheimer and Barbie in Los Angeles. Photograph: Chris Pizzello/AP

It’s not the first time in Hollywood history that two major films have been released on the same day, but July 21st kicked off a record-shattering box office bonanza that even most experts could not predict. Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” landed the biggest debut of the year with $155 million, with Oppenheimer strongly following at $80 million. Instead of an expected rivalry, the sheer contrast in themes inspired many audiences to watch both films. The combined epic aptly termed “Barbenheimer” was the fourth biggest box office weekend in history.

This is a success story for cinema- an industry which is still in recovery mode since the pandemic. But the bigger win lies in the marketing behind the pinker half of this phenomenon- Barbie. With one of most iconic campaigns seen in a while, the marketers weren’t just aiming to advertise a film, but to bring back Barbie as a culturally relevant force across the globe. Perhaps an unintended side effect of this was the business it brought for Oppenheimer too.

Barbiemania began online, with social media filters, brand collaborations and a very popular ‘selfie generator’. The tools allowed audiences to participate in the trend and further drive the Barbie-core craze. With its strong execution of “drenched in pink” branding, the transition from online-to-offline was seamless. As the campaign entered the OOH landscape, we witnessed a very real “Barbie World” come to life.

Visitors to central London saw the “pinkification” of buses and cabs. An eye-catching pop of colour against the greys and browns of a busy city.

A CGI billboard in Dubai, showcased a huge 3D simulated model of Barbie appearing to step out of her box to trample through Dubai.

Even brands couldn’t resist participating in the barbie fever, utilising the trend to capture interest in their own products. Hellman’s cheekily threw a “shrimp on the barbie” on over 400 digital billboards across the UK and Australia, leaning into the movie hype to advertise their signature mayonnaise. In the UK, the ads were placed in areas with large Australian communities, such as Clapham, and outside numerous cinemas.

When brands see incentive in participating, marketing becomes more about involvement and inclusion in a key cultural moment. Everyone wants to be part of the conversation, and that’s the beauty behind Barbie’s campaign, they created a party and cashed in on people’s “FOMO” - fear of missing out. 

The OOH elements of marketing, can take an online craze and elevate it to a lived experience. As cinema goers jumped into Barbie booths and the general public watched their city get painted in pink, the messaging behind the campaign was taken far beyond “go and see this film”.

Rather it told us, “Barbie is back, it's her world.. and we’re all just living in it”.