How do you relaunch an American icon?
That’s the question Barbie posed to us. Simple. Terrifying. Simply terrifying.
By returning to their 57-year-old belief that Barbie exists to help girls imagine their endless possibilities, we revealed that Barbie's new bodies were not a reaction but an evolution. An evolution which only further demonstrated what they believed all along: imagination comes in all shapes in sizes.
The announcement began with the cover of Time magazine, and was quickly followed with a documentary film we created in partnership with Oscar-winner Rory Kennedy.
Recognition: D&AD Impact Wood Pencil, YouTube Ad of the Year Award - Shortlist, The One Show - 2x Merit, APG 2017 Creative Strategy Grand Prix, Creativity Online - Editor's Pick
The reaction was immediate, with Time, USA Today, CBS News, Elle, Vogue, Harper's, Buzzfeed, Mashable, E!, The Today Show and others quickly picking up the announcement and running with it, and we quickly trended globally with #Barbie and #TheDollEvolves.
While this video quickly gained steam on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter, on Instagram we leveraged Barbie's passionate following (The "Barbie Style" account alone has 1.2 million followers) to drive more traffic to the announcement with two painfully cute :15 teasers.
In the first 24 hours the news garnered 949M impressions, the highest for the brand in a single day.
Even better, the work...worked. Coupled with the launch of a line of dolls with three new body shapes, the campaign is attributed with boosting Mattel’s share price by 36% while also reversing a two-year sales decline.
Matt Miller, Executive Creative Director
Amber Justis, Creative Director
Kevin Thomson, Creative Director
Ian Hill, Copywriter
Tu Phan, Art Director
Nicole Dongara, Account Manager
Kim Fredkin, Account Director
Jacqueline Djanikian, Business Affairs
Whitney Ferris, Producer
Production Company: Nonfiction Unlimited
Rory Kennedy, Director
Michael Degan, Executive Producer
LJ / Loretta Jeneski, Executive Producer
Patrick Degan, Head of Production
Jim Shippee, Producer
Editorial: Whitehouse Santa Monica
Joanna Manning Post Supervisor
Charlie Harvey Editor