Mattel’s Barbie is putting fresh energy behind its long-running “You Can Be Anything” tagline with the debut of a brand new campaign. “Give Limitless Possibilities” showcases what it means to give a Barbie to someone by bringing to life the advantages of doll play across all of its joyful, loud, imaginative — and sometimes messy — variations.
“Give Limitless Possibilities” launched Aug. 30 with a spot that centers on empathy, self-expression and confidence, traits that the 65-year-old Barbie brand goals to instill in children. The effort, which kicked off at a Chicago Sky WNBA game, is also meant to reclaim “what it means to give a Barbie,” according to press details.
“Barbie’s at her best when she connects to culture. She’s timeless and timely, she holds up a mirror and she’s also on the forefront of highlighting latest trends and breaking latest boundaries,” said Krista Berger, senior vp of Barbie and global head of dolls at Mattel. “We proceed to evolve Barbie to be more relevant — a contemporary reflection of what today’s kids and families see on the planet around them.”
A brand new ad begins with the sound of youngsters’s laughter and voiceover of assorted adults as they describe what they want they may give to their kids. Children are then seen in playful scenarios with Barbie dolls because the voiceover continues, describing quite a lot of qualities, from a wild imagination to the boldness to be “unapologetically you,” that the speakers wish they may pass on to their kids. The spot ends with the words, “but most of all, I’d offer you the assumption in your personal potential, and, well, that’s form of Barbie’s whole thing.”
The emotional creative, made with agency 72andSunny Los Angeles, concludes with a callback to the “Give Limitless Possibilities” campaign and “You Can Be Anything” tagline. The spot is meant to embody the sentiment of the parents who wish to give their children the world, Berger explained, while also reminding them of the great that may come from Barbie doll play.
“We keep joking that the film reads or views like found footage,” Berger said. “These are really organic moments that occur in houses daily across the globe, and knowing that Barbie is kind of at the center of those moments, and reminding people of that, I feel is so powerful.”
‘The work’s not done yet’
“Give Limitless Possibilities” premiered exclusively on Aug. 30 on the Chicago Sky versus Indiana Fever WNBA game as a part of a Barbie theme night inclusive of activities including a pre-game panel discussion; giveaways of custom Barbie x Chicago Sky sherpa belt bags and Barbie Hawaiian shirts; hair braiding stations featuring Barbie colours; and a photograph booth. Debuting alongside the ladies’s basketball event, which doubled as Barbie’s first themed WNBA game, helps further the brand’s message of empowerment and highlighting role models to emphasize the “should you see it, you possibly can be it” mantra, according to Berger.
The launch also represents a continuation of Barbie’s sixty fifth anniversary celebration, which has included quite a lot of product rollouts around International Women’s Day, including dolls that replicate a handful of iconic women, and latest profession dolls that include a farm vet, pop star and astronaut. Over its lifespan, Barbie has highlighted over 250 careers through its dolls.
The campaign follows last yr’s release of Mattel and Warner Bros. “Barbie” movie. The film, which generated $1.36 billion on the box office and boosted sales of the toy by 25%, inspired a marketing frenzy as brands including Bumble, Roku and NYX Professional Makeup sought to tap into the pop-culture moment. Plus, it marked a turnaround for the Mattel brand from a decade ago when it was losing social currency with the parents who make purchases despite having continued value amongst kids, Lisa McKnight, executive vp and chief brand officer at Mattel, said during an Advertising Week panel last yr.
“The Barbie movie did a tremendous job, it was a worldwide phenomenon,” Berger said. “We are so excited to see an expanded audience now re-engaging with Barbie the brand.”
The alternative to double down on Barbie’s “You Can Be Anything” tagline contrasts a yr marked by change as other decades-old marketers starting from Best Buy to Ocean Spray deploy overhauls and refreshes of their brands. While some are in search of newness, a deeper deal with Barbie’s longtime mantra is key to staying true to who the brand is at its core, Berger explained.
“[‘You Can Be Anything’] is at the center of our purpose, and it so uniquely captures something that only Barbie can really own inside this space,” Berger said. “Ruth Handler invented Barbie because, to her, the doll at all times represented the incontrovertible fact that women had selections, so our purpose of inspiring the limitless potential in every girl, ensuring that they know you possibly can be anything, and then representing that in all of our forms — the work’s not done yet.”
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