01/08/2023
The Barbie marketing campaign has been inescapable, wildly successful, and widely praised. And while its impact can’t be denied, I want to highlight the hypocrisy behind the marketing campaign.
While the movie itself presents itself as feminist subversion of the IP, the marketing campaign is anything but. It still promotes the unattainable Barbie beauty standards and collaborates with places and brands that are undermining women’s rights.
Brand values are becoming increasingly important to consumers, that’s why we see an increase in “brand values” used as nothing more than marketing gimmicks. This undermines the genuine desire consumers have to actually see their own values reflected in their purchases.
Your brand values should never be just tagged on because it’s trendy or convenient. They should be rooted in genuine beliefs and you should stick to them when they're not convenient. Defining their genuine(!) brand values is an important part of my process when working with my clients.
One of my own personal and brand values is not to support discrimination. That meant having to say no to a project after I found out the brand owners are not willing to serve LGBTQ+ customers. And not gonna lie, it hurt. I could’ve really used the money, and the project itself sounded great. But nonetheless, I chose not to work on it because it’s against what I want my business to stand for. And I’m not sharing this because I want brownie points or a pat on the back. I’m sharing this because if I, a solopreneur, can do this, a multi-billion conglomerate of Mattel and WB could do it too.
They just choose not to because they don’t actually care.
Now don’t get me wrong, if you enjoy the Barbie movie or Barbie products, that is not the issue at all. Whatever brings you as the consumer joy is completely legit. The issue is that the brand tells us it’s one thing, but sells us another.