The Barbie movie hype has been so drawn out that it feels like it should have come out fifty times by now. Know, dear reader, that it’s not out until July 21, which means we have six weeks to go.
For months, the content people like you and me have been guaranteed to see when mindlessly scrolling our phones has had to do with the Barbie movie. This is an extreme statement, but, I believe, a fair one: the Kardashian family used to be that inevitable content, but that family has been replaced by the Barbie movie.
This content may be general fan enthusiasm, clickbait from a website (“the seventeenth photo of Margot Robbie as Barbie is out!” says a the caption of a photo of Robbie on a red carpet). Or a specific story, such as this week’s shocking (?) revelation that the film caused “a world/international/global shortage” of pink paint. These headlines stemmed from an Architectural Digest story on the film’s Barbie Dreamhouse, which reported:
Construction, [production designer Sarah] Greenwood notes, caused an international run on the fluorescent shade of Rosco paint. “The world,” she laughs, “ran out of pink.”
Props to the Los Angeles Times for investigating the claim. The paper reported that actually the company was struggling with supply chain issues already, and its paint reserves had been destroyed in the Texas freeze of 2021. So while they gave the production everything they had, Rosco marketing executive Lauren Proud told the paper, “I don’t know they can claim credit.” But by that point it was too late — the paint hype had been fully hyped.
We have been living through Barbie hype for nearly a decade and a half. The movie was first announced in 2009. (Variety at the time: “Mattel is setting up more playdates for its toy properties.”) But it sputtered along for a while, because you know how it is getting anything made in Hollywood. Robbie became attached in 2018 and in early 2019, she was formally confirmed to star and produce. She said then in a release: “Over the brand’s almost 60 years, Barbie has empowered kids to imagine themselves in aspirational roles from a princess to president. I’m so honored to take on this role and produce a film that I believe will have a tremendously positive impact on children and audiences worldwide.”
Counterpoint: scientific study has shown that “ultra-thin dolls” including Barbie “represent a significant potential risk to girls’ body ideals which is not easily countered.” And while Barbie can be anything, she can seemingly only be anything to families with enough disposable income. In late 2012, economist Emily Oster wrote about the price differences between Magician Barbie ($12.99) and Doctor Barbie ($32.91). Noting that it was possible that production costs between the dolls differed, she concluded, “To my inexpert eye, Doctor Barbie and Magician Barbie certainly look almost exactly the same. You are just paying an extra $12 to avoid your child aspiring to a career in magic.” Kari Belsheim wrote about Oster’s column for Bust magazine around the time in came out, commenting, “I’ve got my fingers crossed that Social Justice Barbie tops the Christmas list one of these days!”
Fast forward to October 7, 2020, the day Barbie put this on YouTube:
The Barbie movie has thus far avoided making a mass audience collectively contemplate how good or bad Barbie has been for us as a society. Surely, Mattel wouldn’t agree to have its IP used for a movie that would make us come away thinking, “Wow, can’t buy my kids those dolls!” I think a lot of us are probably fine with this? Barbie is a rare non-superhero blockbuster summer comedy targeted to a female audience — a guilty pleasure that manages to be smart and clever enough, thanks to the writing and direction of Greta Gerwig and a brilliant cast, that we can proudly share our excitement to see it both online and off. (And yes, I am excited to see it.)
Barbie hype really went into overdrive this decade. In 2021, Gosling was announced to play Ken. The first image of Robbie as Barbie came out in April of 2022. Paparazzi shots of Robbie and Gosling rollerblading as Barbie and Ken flooded the internet that June. The first trailer, where little girls smash their baby dolls in the desert, came out December 16, the day after it premiered in select theaters before Avatar: The Way of Water. The second trailer came out April 4 of this year. And the main trailer came out May 25. It has 31.5 million views on YouTube. Today, there are so many “Everything You Need to Know About the Barbie Movie” stories that outlets have written up for Google clicks that you could fairly title the film: Barbie: The SEO Movie.
We are now in a new phase of Barbie hype. If everything leading up to that May 25 trailer was like the slow uphill climb of a roller coaster, we’ve now summited and are descending rapidly toward opening day. Only, we won’t reach opening day for another six weeks.
Condé Nast has published so many splashy Barbie advertorials that I’m beginning to wonder if Warner Bros. is paying them. Of course it’s also possible that Condé Nast, to its credit, is the last remaining magazine publisher with the budget and wherewithal to do splashy celebrity cover stories and is wise to devote that money and energy to a movie that will be massively popular.
Last month, Vogue did its Barbie cover story with Margot Robbie. The spread depicted her as Barbie — luxury fashion edition! — wearing the likes of Valentino, Miu Miu, and Versace. So if you thought Barbie-core, which was written up as a major trend in 2022, was in the media’s rearview mirror, you’re shit out of luck. Despite so much about the movie having come out prior to the release of this story, writer Abby Aguirre, who did a great job, wasn’t allowed to watch more than 20 minutes of the film. She also was not allowed to print who sings the song that plays while Barbie wakes up to her perfect day.
This is because another Barbie marketing vertical is the soundtrack! Tidbits about which are also being released onto the internet like breadcrumbs for ducks. After the Dua Lipa single “Dance the Night” dropped just before Memorial Day weekend, Vulture ran a story headlined, “The Barbie Soundtrack Rollout Has Begun.” (In fact, Rolling Stone was granted the exclusive on the track list. Just the list, not any of what we all care about which is the actual songs.)
Back to Condé Nast: Architectural Digest got the exclusive on Barbie’s house. This is honestly a really good booking for the Barbie movie, since Barbie’s house is neither located in the Hamptons, filled with rare ceramics, nor designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Then again, this is no ordinary Dreamhouse — Architectural Digest will have you know this is a pretentious dream house inspired by the mid-century architecture of Palm Springs. The magazine reported that references for creating the house “ranged from Pee-wee’s Big Adventure to Wayne Thiebaud’s paintings of pies to Gene Kelly’s tiny painter’s garret in An American in Paris.”
Meanwhile, Condé title GQ got the exclusive on Ryan Gosling as a high-fashion cowboy who wears $3,900 boot spurs. Unlike the Vogue story, this profile is more about Gosling than Barbie. We learn that Gosling found it “confusing” to be America’s Hottie for so long, and that he “did not make much of a mark” as a 12-year-old on The All-New Mickey Mouse Club. He is described as profound, and says interviews “can feel like, you know, you go in wearing jeans, and you come out wearing cutoffs. And the pocket’s not the only thing that’s showing, you know what I mean?” Regarding Ken, his more highly publicized remarks include, “I care about this dude now. I’m like his representative. ‘Ken couldn’t show up to receive this award, so I’m here to accept it for him.’ “ Regarding him being “too old” to play Ken, he says, “I would say, you know, if people don’t want to play with my Ken, there are many other Kens to play with.” I can’t help but wonder/wish if this is a misinterpretation, and the quote should have read, “I’m, like, his representative.” But maybe that’s not how the profound speak.
If you think the movie has been squeezed nearly dry of promotional juice, think again. But you still know that when this movie comes out, the internet will unleash an avalanche of think pieces, Twitter threads, and TikTok analyses about Barbie and gender or Barbie and feminism or Barbie and geopolitics. There will be premieres all over the world, with photos of the cast members to dissect at each and every one. Each song will be a viral moment. Ryan Gosling has a song so prepare yourself for an onslaught of SEO about that. There will be official reviews and social media reactions that receive more attention than the official reviews. There will be trend stories about Barbie-core all over again.
How does the Barbie hype end? If it is an Avengers-level blockbuster, well, frankly, it ends with more Barbie movies.
I really hope that the hype doesn't ruin this movie. History tells us that the greater the hype, the less likely the movie is to actually be a hit. Le sigh. Like most girls, I grew up with Barbie and I'm genuinely excited to see this movie. As a plus, I've always loved hot pink so it's been great to see fashion reflect this trend. I'm shopping while the pink is still 'hot!'
It feels like such a fine needle for Greta to thread and so far, I don't feel inundated with the marketing or hype. Based on nothing but my opinion, it *seems* like people want it to succeed (unless there was something I missed about Amy Schumer's comments). Having a spread in Architectural Digest seems incredibly smart to me. I still think about my sister's mid-century modern Barbie house masterpiece (we are both old!).