More than Kenough: A Winning Student Case Study About Mattel's Historic Rebrand of Barbie

Episode Transcript

Eliot Mizrachi: [00:00:00] the blockbuster hit Barbie. was well received by moviegoers, many of whom were returning to theaters for the first time since the pandemic. But many might not realize that this movie was a crucial tactic in Mattel's broader strategy to reposition its iconic brand.

A tactic that took calculated risks to alter how we as consumers view Barbie. Rebecca Wolfe, Katrina White, Mariella Dolth Martial, and Chloe Oakes from the University of Florida decided to submit an entry for the PAGE and IPR case study competition, focusing on Mattel's efforts to reposition the Barbie brand.

For their research, they were awarded the 2024 Jack Cotan Grand Prize. This case is more than just about a doll. It's about how the role of communications is becoming increasingly strategic. It's about the business leadership role of the CCO, the cultural context in which enterprises operate, and the uniquely valuable leadership that the communications function can provide.[00:01:00]

The students did an excellent job of capturing that. I'm Eliet Mizrahi, and this is The Case. The new CCO. Rivet 360 has been working with Page to bring you the new CCO for more than six years. And that goes way beyond just editing and production. They're true thought partners, helping us develop our show's unique voice and identity.

Brainstorm ideas and tell, well, riveting stories. To me, that's what makes them and our show so special. They're storytellers, first and foremost. And as communicators, I know we can all appreciate the value of a story well told. So if you're thinking about launching a podcast, or you have one that needs some fresh ideas, visit Rivet360.

com to book a free consultation. Did you play with Barbies? It's a question that feels both familiar and really loaded in American culture. For many of us it sparks memories, perhaps of a childhood friendship or moments of joy, but it also reveals something at the [00:02:00] heart of today's episode.

Rebecca: I actually wasn't allowed to play with Barbies when I was growing up.

That's Rebecca Wolf, one of the students behind the winning case study that inspired this episode.

My mom wasn't a fan of the brand, and so she never bought me Barbies. I did have other dolls, but just specifically not Barbies.

Eliot: Barbie has been an American icon for years, but with a long history also comes a lot of baggage.

While Barbie was a staple for many playrooms, in other homes she was not invited. And whether you played with her or not probably had to do with how your mom felt about her.

Rebecca: Which kind of turned out to be a common sentiment of women her age when we were doing our research. But yeah, at the time, I really didn't know any better, and I was kind of sheltered from the brand as a whole when I was younger, so I didn't have a lot of experience with it.

Eliot: Our next student, Katrina White, grew up with the exact opposite experience.

Katrina: Personally, I grew up loving Barbies. My sister and I each had like 20 Barbies each, and we'd [00:03:00] create whole different lives and names and backstories for each of them. So, really, Barbie was Very crucial in my upbringing, which is really interesting because like Rebecca said, I feel like a lot of girls either grew up not being allowed to play with Barbies or grew up with Barbie in their hand everywhere they went

Eliot: as an immigrant to the United States, Mariela Doth, Marcal had a different experience discovering Barbie as a cultural ambassador to her new home.

Mariela: My parents immigrated here from Mexico, and we weren't really able to afford Barbies, but when we would go to the library, I was always so eager to check out the Barbie movies. I remember they had, you know, Barbie Nutcracker, so I was obsessed with Barbie, but just in a different way.

Katrina: As someone that.

Grew up with Barbies and was a fan of Barbies growing up. I was super excited to see the movie. Um, when my boyfriend and I went, we dressed up as Barbie and Ken in all pink. And then later that year for my birthday, I had a, a Knuff themed birthday party. So I was [00:04:00] really all in, in the Barbie craze and it was a great experience.

It was so fun. You've got

Eliot: your Knuff t shirt on today.

Katrina: What

Eliot: did y'all think of the movie? Did it live up to expectations?

Rebecca: I personally would say yes. I also saw the movie in theaters. Um, and I also went with my boyfriend, but we did not dress up. Um, I wore purple instead of pink because I consider myself a purple Barbie.

But anyways, um, it was amazing. I have always been a fan of Greta Gerwig and her work. Um, so that was one of the main reasons why I wanted to go see the movie. And it was incredible. Like it was everything I thought it would be. Thanks.

Eliot: The remaining winning student, Chloe Oakes.

Chloe: Yeah, I also went to see it in theaters.

I was actually studying abroad in London at the time, so it was really hard for me to get to a theater. But, uh, I was really glad that I was able to do that because I feel like it just kind of changed me. It was a really good movie.

Eliot: It changed you? How so?

Chloe: Uh, well, I just felt like I was understood in a way.

Like I was watching it and I [00:05:00] was like, Oh, like I resonate a lot with these characters. I feel like they understand. What it is to be a woman.

Eliot: I can hear the enthusiasm in your voice, but I want to ask, you know, you could have done your case on lots of different stories, what made you choose Barbie as the focus?

Chloe: So I think for us, the decision really came from how the fact that the Barbie movie was just massive last summer. I feel like it was all anyone could ever talk about. And, um, I was working for this start up delivery company in London, and they wanted to incorporate Barbie into their social media in any way that they could, and they were just, uh, small company, but they wanted to do play a joke on, Oh, Barbie's had so many different careers and so many different jobs, but Barbie's never been a courier.

So why can't Barbie be a courier? Um, and then from there, I just wanted to see the movie cause I really loved Barbie. And I think just in general, Mattel as a company was just a major part of my childhood. I just emailed our professor and he was like, that sounds like a really good [00:06:00] idea.

Eliot: Very cool. As Rebecca was saying earlier, you know, she wasn't allowed to play with them.

There's a negative connotation around Barbie, maybe that convinced Mattel to do something to shift that. Can you talk about that perception, what it was, maybe where it came from, and how it evolved over the years?

Rebecca: There's honestly kind of two folds to this as well, in the fact that Barbie's known as like a massively popular toy and even a notable figure in pop culture.

But on the other hand, Barbie's historically been criticized for setting these unrealistic beauty standards for women. And this was an issue we found even before the doll came out. There was a market research study that Mattel had done about the doll. Mothers were concerned about Barbie's features and what it implied for their daughters.

Um, and these are sentiments that have remained even to the present day and like research from 2023 found that like 69 percent of women believe Barbie [00:07:00] causes dangerous body image issues for young girls. So She's kind of had those controversies from the beginning. And then there's also the diversity aspect.

She's been criticized for lacking a lot of diversity. The image of Barbie that has persisted through time is that of like a white, skinny, tall, blonde woman, uh, with blue eyes. And despite attempts to diversify the brand, Barbie has often seen by people of color as a reminder of a beauty standard that they can never meet.

And I think that's something that Mattel really wanted to address. It's not only through the film, but through every aspect of its brand.

Eliot: You know, the cultural perception of something like that changes over many decades as Barbie's been around. Uh, what was the original idea behind the toy? Certainly it wasn't to, to give young women body issues.

What, what were, what were the creators of Barbie? Since

Movie Clip: the first little girl ever existed, there have been [00:08:00] dolls. But the dolls were always and forever baby dolls.

Rebecca: So Barbie's purpose is to inspire the limitless potential in every girl. Which I think is just a very concise way of putting it. Yes,

Movie Clip: Barbie changed everything.

Then. She changed it all again. All of these women are Barbie, and Barbie is all of these women. She might have started out as just a lady in a bathing suit, but she became so much more.

Rebecca: And I think that's something that they tried to do through her numerous professions, you know, like Barbie's a lawyer, she's a doctor.

She's a teacher. She's an astronaut. She's done it all. Um, except maybe not a career,

Movie Clip: but um, maybe one day. She has her own money, her own house, her own car,

Rebecca: her own career. She wants to inspire girls to be everything that they want to [00:09:00] be. But I think, you know, over time and through different things within society, that mission has kind of been lost.

Eliot: You know, it's, it would be simple to look at this story and say, this, this is a case of a company that tried to bolster sales with, with content that may be repositioned the brand, but it seems like there's, there's a deeper motivation or maybe even a more meaningful outcome to all of this, uh, what, what do you think Mattel's Uh, intentions were, uh, in trying to reposition the brand.

Katrina: I think Mattel was trying to rebrand Barbie and who she was to women. I think a lot of women saw her as just a concept of the male gaze. Skinny, blonde, blue eyes. And that's just not a realistic expectation for many women. So I think Mattel wanted to show Yeah, you grew up with this plastic Barbie doll, but here's [00:10:00] her in real life This is how she is as an authentic real woman and that's what resonated with so many consumers

Eliot: They were looking to reposition barbie in the minds of Women or kind of more broadly as a cultural figure

Rebecca: I would say definitely broadly Something we kind of talked about is the fact that this movie Was designed to be for people who love Barbie and it was designed to be for people who hate Barbie so there was supposed to be something for everyone in this and Yes, it's about repositioning her To women, because I think, you know, at the end of the day, the purpose of the brand is to inspire girls.

But as we talked about Barbie is a cultural icon and everyone knows who she is. So it's important to reposition her in the minds of broader consumers as well. And I think that that's what Mattel set out to do with this. It wasn't to sell [00:11:00] dolls. It wasn't to sell toys. It wasn't to sell doll houses. It was To really define Barbie as a character and reposition her to the world.

Speaker 3: Mattel's been playing with the ability to do this movie for a couple of years. Uh, Talks first started, you know, in 2009. Universal Pictures was originally the one behind it. Other studios such as, like, you know, Sony Pictures came to the picture as well, but it never panned out further than the discussion room, um, just because of creative differences between Mattel and the studios.

Casting was also an issue. I know that at one point, you know, Anne Hathaway and Amy Schumer were both candidates for the role of Barbie, but you know, as we know now, neither ended up making the final cut. And then there's the other thing that, you know, Mattel was incredibly protective of the Barbie brand.

So that was another factor to consider as well. You know, in the past Mattel had sued MCA records over Aqua Song Barbie Girl. And then there was also the fact that Mattel had been approached to have Barbie be a part of the original Toy Story, but they rejected [00:12:00] it because that was meant to be played in the Toy Story movie, um, didn't align with the values of Mattel or their depiction of the doll.

They had it Barbie and I want to say it was Toy Story 2 or Toy Story 3.

Movie Clip: Hi, I'm Ken.

BARBIE SOUNDTRACK: Barbie? Have we ever

Movie Clip: met? I would have remembered. Love your leg warmers.

Speaker 3: Nice

BARBIE SOUNDTRACK: ass cut.

Speaker 3: It wasn't until the first Toy Story rolled out that Mattel had, Then agreed to be like, you know what, let's go ahead. Let's put Barbie in this movie.

And they moved forward with it.

Eliot: Interesting. And so, so you said there were lots of kind of stumbling blocks. What made it come all together?

Speaker 3: Um, I think it was honestly just Greta Gerwig's direction. Usually when studios and writers are trying to get together and come up with a movie, they'll almost serenade them and incentivize them to do it.

But Greta came up with a poem about, you know, being a woman and all that. And they just trusted her creative direction and went forward with [00:13:00] it.

Eliot: So we can look back now and see that they were very successful. And in your case talks about the many ways that they did that. But before all this happened, this was a gamble.

Mattel really struggled with what, why was that? What were some of the concerns?

Rebecca: Yeah, so they took a few risks with this movie, one of which being giving Greta Gerwig so much creative freedom over the story and the themes within the film. They would ask questions rather than give her red inked edits, um, which relinquishes a lot of control from their side over what story was being told.

And so at the end of the day, yes, they were reviewing everything, but There were never any hard lines drawn. It was more of a conversation, which I thought was really impactful and definitely a risk that they took and kind of on the note of themes, the Barbie movie addresses some pretty heavy ones and it addresses them pretty head on.

This movie explores feminism and critiques the patriarchy and really showcases the complexity of the human [00:14:00] experience. And this is something you wouldn't necessarily expect from a movie about a children's toy. But it worked really well in regards to reconnecting Barbie with older audiences, who, as we kind of discussed, weren't the biggest fans of her.

Another risk was actually having Mattel play a character in the film. The entire movie is poking fun at Mattel executives, especially through its portrayal of the CEO as over the top and like, kind of panicky and villainous. And they had like Will Ferrell play him, who is known for playing comedic characters.

So it's not the way that most companies would want. To look in a huge movie that they were releasing.

Movie Clip: Oh, but since I came all this way, could I just meet the woman in charge? You're CEO. Oh, well, that would be me. Oh, you're CFO. Me. You're COO. President of the Barney division. I'm a man with no power. Does that make me a woman?

Rebecca: But this actually ended up paying off because audiences really appreciated the sarcasm behind it.

Eliot: Yeah. [00:15:00] The self deprecation I think really made, made it feel more authentic. Right.

Movie Clip: Absolutely. Absolutely. Listen, I know exactly where you're going with this, and I have to say, I really resent it. We are a company literally made of women.

We had a woman CEO in the 90s, and there was another one at some other time. So that's, that's two right there. Women are the freaking foundation of this very long phallic building. We have gender neutral bathrooms up the wazoo. Every single one of these men love women. Um, before I get in the box, could I just run to the restroom and make sure my hair is perfect?

Fine. Can you be speedy about it? Mm hmm.

Eliot: They've enlisted Greta Gerwig, they've, they've given her a lot of trust, [00:16:00] right? They've basically given her this brand and said, tell a story that's gonna reposition this. And they demonstrated what I would imagine is incredible amounts of restraint, uh, in not, uh, trying to have too heavy a hand in influencing it.

So they've got the film, uh, what was the communication strategy around it? What did you find in terms of how they went out into the world with this, this story?

Chloe: So what they did is they have this massive marketing campaign that had over a hundred partnerships with different brands, different companies.

And For Mattel, it was all about finding the partnerships that made sense. So a big example we had of that was clothing because it made sense for the Barbie brand where the whole purpose was clothing and what, uh, Barbie was wearing. Uh, but then from there, there were a lot of things we found that were surprising that were also, in my opinion, a very notable lesson.

Uh, the one. We really talked about a lot was Burger King and they had this pink sauce, which was [00:17:00] in our opinion, a little bit more random, but it was kind of genius because people were talking about it and it even spurred conversations in our classes about it.

Rebecca: They had other food ones. There was one with Cold Stone.

They did pink ice cream. They did like even bigger ones with like progressive insurance. I'm sure a lot of people have seen that commercial in the Barbie dream house. And like they had an Airbnb. Competition where they had like a Malibu dream house. Um, and they were running a competition where people could like enter to win a stay in the Malibu dream house.

So it's like kind of unlikely partnerships, but at the end of the day, if you think about it, the Barbie dream house is a huge part of the brand. So it makes sense to kind of align yourself with companies that are looking out for houses. Um, so they really got creative with the marketing and the partnerships.

For this campaign,

Eliot: you know, I can think back to last summer and you're right. Barbie was everywhere. These partnerships made it ubiquitous. Uh, Oppenheimer was also in [00:18:00] theaters and Barbenheimer became this huge phenomenon. Uh, how did that happen? Was that part of the plan?

Rebecca: So, no, it was not part of the communications plan.

That was something that occurred organically. Um, we found that I guess Oppenheimer had slated its release for the same day as Barbie and neither of them were going to move it. So they both ended up coming out the same weekend. Um, and it really became. Such a huge phenomenon, especially on social media, people going to see both movies the same weekend, people seeing both movies in general, or like people going with their boyfriends and maybe not everyone's boyfriend is dressing up as Ken.

They're going to dress up as Oppenheimer. So it was just, it was, it was a really funny, organic phenomenon that I think really Catapulted Barbie even more into the public light.

Eliot: I cannot think of two movies that would be more different from each other to consume in the same day. [00:19:00] Maybe that was part of the point.

Rebecca: Yeah, I definitely think the juxtaposition of having Oppenheimer with Barbie made it even more appealing to consumers.

Eliot: So what was the reaction to the movie?

Speaker 3: There was, you know, just an overwhelming positive reaction from the public. From moviegoers alone, there was an 88 percent um, rating from like Rotten Tomatoes.

And like, as we've been saying before, like Barbie was everywhere. Like you could not escape her that summer. You know, whether you're going on a walk, a drive, or online. And like, speaking of online, there was just chatter everywhere. Um, on our case study, we touched how there was like nearly 7 million posts across like all platforms.

And 39 percent of it, conveyed positive sentiment. And then in the People magazine said that there was this trend Barbie core, which is just wearing, you know, super vibrant, super pink colors and people's reactions also transcended into like their wallets and stuff. Um, you know, as I mentioned, the fashion trend and then, um, the term Barbie [00:20:00] merchandise for women specifically experienced a 611.

78 percent surge on Amazon, which is insane to think about. Um, when it comes to like other stakeholders as reactions, for example, the executive suite, um. Some individuals were a bit more apprehensive of the movie than others. There was a point in filming, you know, where an individual from the executive suite flew to the film set to oppose a certain scene because, you know, as we've mentioned before, Mattel has the certain perception of what the brand should be and he thought that he was off brand and, you know, he gave it some consideration.

Um, Gerwig and, um, Robbie both, you know, shot and, um, We did the scene and he changed his mind and agreed with, you know, their creative direction and then other stakeholders, you know, like suppliers and shareholders, they were for the most part optimistic and positive throughout the development and execution of the film.

They were pretty confident in the relationship with Mattel and, um, even moving forward, they have a bright future ahead of them. During trivial times, for example, you know, there was pink [00:21:00] everywhere, couldn't escape Barbie. There was that pink paint shortage by Roscoe. And things could have gone wrong, but, you know, um, the VP of Marketing and Digital Experience for Roscoe, that's the paint company that had the pink paint shortage, um, they didn't blame or direct any sort of negative sentiment towards the company, and they were also, they had positive sentiment towards the company and were really excited about the product.

And then lastly, you know, the major stakeholder as well, um, Warner Brothers. They were pretty ecstatic after the premiere of the movie. I mean, this movie ended up becoming its highest grossing global release within its 100 year history. And it received recognition from a bunch of like top award programs, such as like, you know, the Golden Globes and Grammys.

And from the success, Mattel ended up renewing its license deal with the studio as well.

Eliot: Was there any backlash? And kind of relatedly, I wonder, because Mattel here was, uh, sort of getting into issues of feminism and women empowerment, did they work with or reach out to any organizations that are involved in [00:22:00] that space?

Or did any of them have a reaction that was public, that was notable?

Speaker 3: Um, Not any that we came across from, um, there was a bit of a negative sentiment online, but the percentage of that compared to the positive sentiment, it was very minimal. I want to say it was, yeah, 7. 5 percent of all posts were negative, but for the most part, yeah, like that 39 percent is more so overwhelming positive with the movie.

Eliot: Chloe, Mariella was talking a little bit about the different stakeholders in the universe that were, that were managed throughout this process. Can you talk a little bit more about who some of the key players were and how Mattel went about managing their needs and concerns?

Chloe: Yeah, so another one is consumers, and we focus specifically on Gen Z and millennials.

Uh, and a lot of the values that were held by people in these generations was authenticity and nostalgia, which were very prevalent throughout the movie. And the movie [00:23:00] itself was received well, as we've been saying, and people were posting on social media saying that it made them emotional. Uh, in the same way that I was saying it made for me earlier.

Uh, it's this idea that Mattel was being authentic and, uh, we were feeling nostalgic over the fact that we grew up with these dolls and we grew up with Mattel and we're able to see it as we're getting older. Um, and then I also noticed the same thing about the, uh, pink paint shortage. Uh, it just kind of goes to show that.

Barbie was just such a big deal and it really affected everyone.

Eliot: So I think I know the answer to this question, but looking at everything in its totality, would you say Mattel was successful here with this strategy?

Chloe: Yes, I think we all believe it was very effective. It was appealing to the humor and authenticity that Gen Z and millennials want to see from companies.

Now, it is really important for these brands [00:24:00] to be as authentic and as real as they can be because it makes it feel more human and we have more of a genuine connection that way. Making fun of Mattel's past was really important because people didn't want to just sit through an extended advertisement of Barbie dolls.

It was supposed to be a lot more than that. And it really was.

Eliot: You know, I saw the movie and it felt in many ways like this coming of age story for Barbie. I appreciated that they, they had Ruth Handler as one of the characters. Ruth created Barbie many, many years ago. And I liked that Rebecca started out by talking about Barbie's original purpose.

Cause in many respects, it seems like what the movie intended to do was bring Barbie back to that original purpose, that all the cultural changes that happened in the year since maybe applied some things to Barbie that weren't originally intended. And so getting back to that kind of authentic sense of, this is what Barbie is meant to represent was really [00:25:00] significant.

How big of a role do you think this notion of purpose and authenticity played just in Mattel's decision to take this on and the success with which it ultimately did it.

Rebecca: Yeah, so like we mentioned, Mattel took so many risks with Barbie and these risks wouldn't have paid off if the company wasn't authentic in its execution.

Barbie today is not the same brand it was when it first came out, uh, or in the 1980s or in the early 2000s. Um, it's evolved so much over time and that's really what the movie was trying to show audiences, that whether you loved Barbie or you hated her, there was something for you in who she is today. Um, and Bart, like we talked about.

Barbie's purpose is to inspire the limitless potential in every girl. And I think that this movie is the story of the brand, rediscovering that purpose and living it out. I mean, I think, I think about the masses of people who flock to the theaters dressed in pink, the masses of people who made tech talks and [00:26:00] Instagram posts, participating in all these Barbie trends and like searching up Barbie core and like, We even watched some reaction videos from people who saw the movie, and they would just get so emotional and teary eyed because the movie is so human.

Um, and even the music associated with it, from Even I'm Just Ken to What Was I Made For, kind of showcased, you know, The purpose in a compelling way. So I think in regards to his campaign, authenticity was everything.

Chloe: What

Eliot: is something that you think that Mattel did especially well here? Maybe a lesson that this success would have for others.

Katrina: I would say that going into this movie, I thought it was just gonna be a funny, silly movie about a Barbie doll, and I did not expect to cry at the end, and be like, oh my god, I just have so much, like, empathy and respect for so many women in my life, and I'm proud of myself [00:27:00] for being a woman in today's society.

Um, and I think just the movie messaging was brilliant. And I'm glad that Mattel gave Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie just full reign to tell the story. And just, we see Barbie in that movie going through growing pains and trying to find herself. And trying to beat the stereotypes that are set up against her.

And that's something that every woman can relate to. And I think Mattel did a great job of crafting a meaningful narrative that just goes deeper than toys.

Eliot: I noticed in your case, you did a look into the company's reputation and impact on reputation. What happened there?

Rebecca: One of the things we looked at was the brand value of Barbie. Our source was Statista. And as I mentioned, in 2021, Barbie was named number one toy of the year. The [00:28:00] brand value of Barbie in 2023 was Practically double what it was in 2021.

So if that doesn't showcase the impact that this campaign had on the brands and Mattel as a whole, I don't know what will, it was truly massive. Uh, the reputation increase was massive.

Eliot: You know, it's amazing. The commercial success is obviously significant, but it's, it's not nothing that the message of the movie.

Resonated powerfully with so many people. And so many people made such an emotional connection to it. And it sounds like, you know, trust in Greta. Uh, to tell a very human story about a character that is intrinsically not human was a big part of the success here.

Rebecca: Absolutely, and I think another thing to be said about that is that so many women have kind of, not compared, I guess compared, so many women have compared themselves to Barbie throughout the years.

That's why she received So [00:29:00] much criticism for all of her issues around body image and around diversity, because so many women were looking to Barbie to be them. And I think this movie kind of showcases how Barbie really is women everywhere.

Eliot: So as communicators, as people who took a look at this story through the lens of communications, what lessons do you think it has specifically for communicators?

Rebecca: I would say the most important lesson from our case is the power of leading with purpose. Like we said earlier, every aspect of the campaign aligned with Barbie's purpose to inspire the limitless potential in Every Girl, from the casting and director choices, to the marketing, to the content of the film and the themes discussed, to even the music.

So I would say that the biggest takeaway for communicators is to let purpose be that north star [00:30:00] for them and their enterprise as they navigate increasingly complex issues. And then another thing I would add is to consider the importance of being authentic and walking the walk in regards to your purpose.

Mattel was able to make all these jabs at themselves and at Barbie as a doll because they have made so many changes even before the movie came out. One thing we talked about was how in 2015 Barbie had hit its lowest sales in, I think it was 20 years. And that was because people were tired of not seeing themselves in her.

So in 2016, they released a huge line of new Barbies with different skin tones, different body types, different hair types, different eye colors, so that everyone would have the opportunity to see themselves in her. And they've continued expanding upon this line to this day. And so I think They started this really in [00:31:00] 2016 when they did that.

And then the movie is kind of an extension of that. So I think being authentic has to be everything to your brand and to your enterprise.

Chloe: Yeah, I was going to say the same thing about being authentic, and I think it really ties in well with one of the peach principles, actually, which is to tell the truth, um, and we, and to prove it with action as well.

Um, and we see that a lot with the Barbie movie and, um, like we said, the line in 2016, it really shows that they were trying to, uh, make things better.

Katrina: Not to reiterate what everyone is saying, but the transparency, honesty, authenticity of Mattel through this movie, they wouldn't have been able to poke fun at themselves and villainize themselves in the movie if they hadn't turned around their brand and made change.

I think that for other communicators, it's important to look at yourself And think, have we done better? [00:32:00] Have we listened to criticism and taking that to account and changed? And if so, how can we show. Our audience that we've done that.

Eliot: So a couple weeks ago, you were able to actually speak with Catherine Frymark, who's the CCO at Mattel.

What was that like? What did you learn?

Speaker 3: The whole experience with Catherine from the get go has just been an incredible experience. Um, I mean, I, I feel like she truly embodies, you know, some of the page principles, not just her, but Mattel in general. I feel like I have to give a little bit of backstory before, like, I go in with, like, you know, the whole interview and everything.

I'm sure everyone has their own opinion about, like, what surprised them most, but, um, you know, I remember getting the call from JT and he had told us, you know, that we had won the grand, uh, grand prize. And that they were potentially going to have Mattel involved and I remember being like, Oh my gosh, Mattel is going to be involved.

And then I remembered the part where we had analyzed this, uh, executive suite and then just being like, Oh my gosh, they are going to read the part where we, [00:33:00] Analyze and criticize them, but you know, having that conversation with Catherine, you know, it was not only incredible and she was like a delight to work with, but she, as I said before, has really embodied the PAGE principles.

Um, you know, specifically staying calm, patient, and good humor, and realizing that a company's true character is expressed by its people. They didn't have to get involved with. Our company, but uh, they were just reiterating their purpose of like, you know, exploring every girl's like true potential. And they were able to, you know, recognize us and celebrate us, which felt incredible and just embodied, you know, the values of the company.

And, you know, it's one thing to read Case after case, an article after article about, you know, these companies supposedly doing these page principles. But seeing it in person was just absolutely incredible. And that was just a major takeaway I had from the interview with Catherine.

Rebecca: One of my favorite things that we talked about is we asked her what the process was like for Selecting these partnerships that they did because they did so many I think we said [00:34:00] 150 over 150 Partnerships and so we were like, well, I'm sure there were more brands that wanted to get involved in this like how did you navigate that and what was that like and She just calmly was like well Yes, there were a lot of brands that wanted to get in on the Barbie trend, but we just evaluated them based on Barbie's values and decided if it was a fit or not, like, it was a very simple answer.

And I was, and that's what kind of gave me my takeaway for our case as a whole is like, wow, it really is just about leading with authenticity and going back to your purpose. Um, takeaway.

Eliot: How do you all feel about Barbie today? Do you feel differently?

Rebecca: I do. As I said earlier, I was not allowed to play with Barbie as a kid, and I was very unfamiliar with the brand. Now, I am very familiar with the brand. Um, I [00:35:00] think doing all this research, On Mattel as a company, but also on the purpose of Barbie, why she was made, what she's done over the years, um, has really given me a positive sentiment about the brand.

And I think even our conversation with Catherine, with how they went about making this movie and how, you know, the script wasn't just completely red inked by Mattel. It was a collaborative process. They were in with Gerwig from the beginning, like they wanted, What she wanted. Um, I thought that was great.

And because of that kind of collaborative spirit, I have such a positive opinion of the brand.

Chloe: Yeah, I would agree. I feel like whenever I walk into target and I see just the row of Barbie, I just can't help, but think about everything we learned about in this case. And I know for me particularly, I, that hex code is in my brain.

I can't get it out. Every time I see it, I'm like, Oh,

Katrina: that color. I know it. [00:36:00] I love Barbie more than ever now. I mean, seeing the dolls that I used to play with growing up on the big screen, going through issues that I've gone through, and, um, going through just trying to navigate life made me feel so nostalgic and comforted, and I love that Mattel took a plastic doll and turned her into a human figure that we could all relate to.

It's

Speaker 3: Yeah, just like everybody else is saying, like, I still have that positive sentiment towards Barbie. Um, I had previously had an obsession with her, but now it's more of a passion. I mean, just doing our research, the amount of thought, detail, and Mattel's intention with the brand and the doll, and how they wanted to redeem themselves, um, for Barbie.

With women, it's just truly incredible. And yeah, just as Chloe mentioned, um, you know, seeing the dolls in the store, it really tugs at my heartstrings just knowing how much they've done to get there.

Eliot: [00:37:00] So we've talked a lot about the, the media impact, the commercial impact, even the societal impact. Uh, this all had quite a bit of an economic impact as well.

Can you talk a little bit about what you discovered there?

Rebecca: Yeah. So. We kind of discovered that this summer when Barbie was released, there were a lot of other things going on that contributed to this phenomenon that the wall street journal dubs like the woman's economy. Um, and so basically the concept was that we had Barbie released, we had Taylor Swift's eras tour, we had Beyonce's Renaissance tour going on all throughout the summer.

And All over social media, you were seeing women going to these shows, going to the theaters, dressing up, like having fun and just like enjoying all these things that women are typically known to like and it was being celebrated and it really [00:38:00] had an impact on the U. S. economy in a big way.

Eliot: Has anyone seen the movie more than once?

Rebecca: Yes. Yeah.

Eliot: You've all seen it more than once.

Rebecca: Yes.

Eliot: Do you all have the same favorite parts or do you want to share what your favorite parts of the movie were?

Chloe: Oh, I'm gonna have to think about that. What is your favorite part? I

Eliot: love that. This is the toughest question I've asked you.

Rebecca: Well, it really is because there's so much great

Katrina: stuff in the movie.

My favorite part was the montage towards the end where Margot Robbie's Barbie is becoming human and talking with Ruth. And then just that montage with what was I made for over it. Tears, every time. Um, and then on a less emotional part, I also loved the music. seeing Ken adventure out into the human world for the first time and realizing patriarchy isn't about men riding horses.

That's just [00:39:00] me and I'm in hysterics. Yeah,

Rebecca: that's good. I, after thinking about it, I, I love the part where Barbie's in the real world and she's sitting on that bench. She has that flashback where she's looking for the person who's playing with her. And then she comes back and she looks next to her and there's an old woman sitting next to her.

And she just looks at her and she says, You're beautiful. And the old woman says, I know it. And I thought that was amazing. Like, I just thought that was such a great display of like, what womanhood is.

Chloe: Yeah, that's also definitely one of my favorite scenes. And I remember there being an interview where they were talking about, oh, do we really need this scene?

And Greta Gerwig was like, yes, this is perfect. The whole point of the movie, this is the message I'm trying to get across. Uh, and I think it was just a really beautiful scene because you expect people to be like, Oh, thank you so much, like, [00:40:00] that's a compliment, but just being able to say, I know it, is really impactful.

Speaker 3: I would say, I almost have like two favorite scenes. So the first one is obviously like, America Ferrera's, uh, monologue. That is when the tears started to well for me. Cause it's one thing when people are saying it to you, but when it's on the big screen and someone so significant in Hollywood is saying that experience, that universal experience that all women have in front of you, to you, it, That's where the tears started to well up and I was just like you're so right America like you are just so right that and then There was a scene where Barbie and Ken they just entered the real world.

They were like rollerblading down Um, I think it was Venice Beach. It was on the beach and They saw the billboard of you know, all the models and And they were like, Oh my gosh, it's the Supreme court. And you know, everybody erupted into laughter, [00:41:00] but I'm like, what is stopping them? Like from, you know, being the Supreme court, you know, they are beautiful.

They are gorgeous, but you know, you can have beauty and brains as well. And that had me thinking for a while too. So yeah, those are my two favorite scenes.

Eliot: Great. You know, as I listened to you all talk about it, I can hear how much you all felt seen, which to me. It is amazing to come from a character that for so many years was accused of Not seeing women or, you know, casting these unrealistic expectations on them.

Uh, Chloe, you started out by saying the movie changed you. Uh, and I appreciate all of you helping me understand the ways that that's the case.

Chloe: Yeah, I, uh, went to, I saw the movie with my mom. The second time I watched it, first time she watched it. And it was really nice to see, uh, America and Ariana Green bot, uh, working together. Okay. [00:42:00] Because I kind of saw like a younger version of me in Ariana and it was really, it was just nice for both of us to see the mother daughter relationship and just being able to be like, yeah, we feel, we feel seen in this movie.

Eliot: That's awesome.

Our podcast producer, Jesse Baten, jumped in with this question.

Producer Jesse: Do you think that the movie did something similar for Mattel and Barbie? that's perhaps comparable to what Marvel in some way did for superheroes. Sort of like it is part of the power of this sort of giving people permission to love these things from their childhood that had an incredible power over them during their childhood and kind of inviting them to reignite their passion that you've maybe said goodbye to at one time in the past.

Does that [00:43:00] spark anything in you?

Rebecca: I think that's a great point. Um, and I think that that kind of plays into the nostalgia aspect of the entire campaign. Like we talked about with our, our Gen Z and our millennial stakeholders, a lot of the power behind this campaign was fueled by nostalgia and how these, People played with Barbies when they were younger, or maybe they weren't allowed to do that.

And they remembered that they weren't allowed to do that. And they were like, Oh, like, why wasn't I? And it kind of sparked some curiosity in them to go see this movie and kind of live out that childhood aspect that they had already experienced. But one thing I think Barbie does a little bit differently than the Marvel movies is really addressing those themes head on.

I feel like the Marvel movies, they may have some of those themes in them, but it's not the, it's not the overall theme, I feel like, [00:44:00] whereas Barbie was really tackling some of these social issues and putting them in the forefront, um, through the lens of a child's toy, and I thought that was great.

Producer Jesse: Yeah, it's a good point that, like, the purpose of a superhero movie is to be kind of the opposite of the Barbie movie, empowering in a, like, fantastical way.

Um, I think like something I was thinking about while I was listening to you guys talk about your favorite scenes was like, it's, it's worth pointing out just how weird all of this is, like, because Ellie, I'm imagining some listeners may not have seen the Barbie movie. And so like the opening scene is a spoof of 2001 A Space Odyssey, which The scene that they're spoofing is this montage of, like, the original apes on the planet Earth discovering violence for the first time and, like, committing the first ever mass murder and, like, whipped into this frenzy of violence, so, like, they redo this as, or reimagine it as this, like, bleak landscape of sad looking little girls playing with, like, the dolls of the past, the uninspiring toys, um, and their [00:45:00] whole point is, like, Girls used to play with dolls, but they were always baby dolls.

And so girls played mom, and that was the only thing that they inspired themselves. And then this gigantic, monolithic Barbie descends from the sky and inspires all the girls to, like, violently smash their uninspiring toys and re imagine their future. I mean, it's a really effective way. To say the ultimate message of the movie and encapsulate it in something that kind of draws everybody in, I was kind of blown away by that Choice and how daring it is.

Rebecca: Yeah, that was epic

Producer Jesse: For any of your your moms who had like a different opinion before, has the movie softened up any of the Barbie hardliners?

Rebecca: My mom hasn't seen it yet.

Producer Jesse: Okay. She

Rebecca: doesn't, she's kind of hesitant Interesting.

Producer Jesse: So

Rebecca: I have to work on that.

Producer Jesse: Yeah. Yeah. I, I would be so curious to hear like how someone who has, um, because what I was [00:46:00] thinking while you were talking about Marvel is like a lot of people probably filed away Barbie as not for me 25 years ago and haven't engaged with that since.

Right. Like unless they bought Barbie for their daughters or their, their children's. Friends brought it over and you had to kind of have that conversation and maybe change your point of view. A lot of people maybe just wrote Barbie off. And this is like a really interesting way to open up that conversation in a way where you can't ignore it.

Eliot: I feel like the only question remains now is how many Barbie sequels there will be before we start to think that they should have stopped. This is a point.

Rebecca: I hope they don't do one.

Katrina: Yeah.

Rebecca: Yeah, I agree. Guess it is

BARBIE SOUNDTRACK: yelling out the scream house. Yelling out. We ain't selling out. We got money but we ain't out.

We got pause but we ain't bail out in that pink Ferrari. We out. I bring the Bob Dylan outy. We just chilling out. Yelling, yelling, yelling out is Barbie. Bitch, if you still in doubt.[00:47:00]

Eliot: Well, I want to thank you all for the incredible job that you did for spending this time with us, for sharing so thoughtfully, uh, how this project and this movie and this whole phenomenon has affected you. And. Congratulations for those of you who are graduating. I look forward to seeing where you all land.

And I want to say also, um, I have such great heart for the University of Florida's public relations program. I've gotten to meet all of you over the years as you've been in your studies, and it's just so wonderful to see all of you applying all the things that you learned in those programs. And I have no doubt that you will be incredibly successful no matter what path you take.

So thank you so much. Congratulations.

Rebecca: Thank you so much. That's so nice.

Eliot: That's it for today's episode of the new [00:48:00] CCO. It's time to put it back in the box. We hope you enjoyed diving into the winning case study, where Mattel's efforts could K enough from the talented team at the University of Florida, Rebecca Wolfe Mariela doth Marcel, Chloe Oaks and Katrina White. This project is a highlight for us at page, and we're always amazed by the creativity and depth these students bring to the table.

We look forward to seeing the impact they'll make on the corporate communications field. Thanks for listening. And if you haven't had enough, we'll be bringing you a conversation from the winners and Catherine Frymark, Executive Vice President of Corporate Communications at Mattel, in a future episode to get an insider's perspective on this case study.

Special thanks to Rivet360, our podcast partner. Without their support, we simply could not bring you this podcast. We'll see you next time on the new CCO.