Opening up Instagram almost guarantees seeing images from the upcoming “Barbie” movie. Whether an actual screenshot of the teaser trailers, an official poster, or a meme replicating one of the shots, “Barbie” has become one of the most talked about films of 2023 before the official trailer even releases.
Greta Gerwig’s upcoming film “Barbie” has created significant social media buzz. The release of official character photos on April 4 has begun a trend of different icon styles in the posters. Celebrities, brands, and everyday people post these images with captions customized to the individual in them.
The trend has reached official St. Olaf social media accounts outside of just the feeds of students. For example, St. Olaf’s Office of Student Activities Instagram account posted one of Ole the Lion with the phrase “This Ole is a Rockstar.” The trend continues to evolve with each passing day. Viral marketing has transformed into a meme or movement inspired by the new movie and its preceding legacy as one of the bestselling children’s toys ever.
The marketing calls the public into the buildup of the film by playing on nostalgia and the desire to become a part of the lead-up to the film. This invokes the imagery and character of the various Barbie dolls adults may have played with as children. Barbie President, scientist, pregnant Midge, and Allen are all based on older Barbie toys that adults of all ages will remember.
Alongside the character photos, a short teaser trailer showed more of the lead Barbie and Ken dolls, played by Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling. The second trailer starts with a scene of Margot Robbie’s Barbie taking off her shoe to reveal that her foot stays in the shape of a Barbie doll’s foot—brand loyalty to the property that inspired the film seeps into every detail of the currently available previews.
Even the now infamous and debate-inducing tagline of the film “She’s everything, he’s just Ken” reminds the audience of old Barbie marketing. Barbie held every career possible. Ken essentially became one of her accessories, a theme that the film seems to hint at exploring. Catchphrases like “Just another Ken” and “You guessed it, another Ken” on the male characters show the relative unimportance of Ken in the Barbie world, indeed in the toy franchise and perhaps in the film adaptation.
Using an easily adaptable format for the film’s marketing strategy allows the creators to play Barbies as adults. In the same way, children project onto Barbie dolls, people can project onto the easily definable, colorful posters of the “Barbie” “film. Adults can play with the new Barbie non-doll entities by promoting the film, an enjoyable activity for both those nostalgic for the toy and the executive who made the film, and receive free social media exposure.
“Barbie” opens” in theaters on July 21, giving plenty of time for the hype to develop based on its star-studded cast and the hints of what role the characters may play in the film based on the accompanying phrases on the poster.
