You’d have to be living on another planet to have not noticed that in July the Barbie film based on the Mattel doll had hits the screens, for one suddenly everything has gone pink!

The hype for the film has been building since it was announced at the start of the project that Margot Robbie has been cast in the title role, and that Ryan Gosling was Ken.

Several collaborations and clothing ranges have been released over the last month or so to coincide with the film launch including Selfridges, ASOS, Boohoo, Primark, GAP, Zara, George at Asda, OPI and NYX to name just a few!

As well as these collabs, many more brands have referenced Barbie in their marketing in some shape or format including Airbnb showcasing the Barbie Malibu House, Heinz with their suggested pink version of their dressings, Heineken who cleverly focused on the last part of their brand in support of Ken, and Bumble who ran a campaign to help people find a date to watch the movie.

Aside from the fact I am the niece of the real-life, much-loved, and very missed Barbara & Ken, I grew up in the 70’s in the UK, so was firmly a Sindy girl and just didn’t have the same allegiance with Barbie as others. However, there were several reasons this film had piqued my interest:

1. I loved how much people were getting behind it, and the messages that they were taking away from it.
2. Ms Robbie was in it. I’ve been a big fan of her work ever since she supported the Warrington Youth Club charity (now known as Warrington Youth Zone) through her video messages of support of the popular film club night.
3. From a marketing perspective, I enjoyed seeing how innovative and creative brands of all shapes and sizes were being with incorporating Barbie into their comms.

So, when I found myself the other week in a Scottish West Highland town in the rain waiting for my other half to finish climbing Ben Nevis, I went to the local cinema. There were half a dozen of us there, watching without the obligatory pink clothing (clearly I wasn’t the only one who had pre-planned or packed anything suitable!), and sadly missing out on the opportunity to pose for a photo in the Barbie box (.. now that I am sad about.. I do love packaging!).

I wasn’t expecting to like it as much as I did, but I found it fun, pink, cleverly done and overall, a great way to pass a couple of hours on a Tuesday in the rain.

I’m sure that Warner Brothers, Matel and probably other nostalgic toy manufacturers are already planning a movie to bring more back to life for future films... maybe now is the time for the Sindy and Action Man partnership I originally thought up all those years ago?!!