How the Barbie Movie Saved Mattel
Mattel’s stock price has been declining through the 2010s. As the second largest toy company in the world behind Lego, this was not just speculation or bad PR. It was years of shrinking revenue due to increased competition, lost partnerships, supply chain issues, and some strategic mistakes.
Mattel sells many different toys and brands, but Barbie is absolutely their largest division. And it had been struggling until last month — the double feature no one saw coming: Barbie and Greta Gerwig.
The Barbie movie is on track to make $2 billion in revenue. It’s the fastest film to hit $1 billion in ticket sales in Warner Bros history. Analysts estimate at least 5% of the box office will go to Mattel, not to mention the massive sales boost they will see this holiday season.
Mattel was a broken, dinosaur, slow company. But they just saw themselves in the mirror, agreed to make fun of their own bad decisions, and saved themselves. This is how Barbie and Greta Gerwig saved Mattel:
The Decline of Barbie in the 2010s
Mattel has gone through rough patches before, like in the 1970s when they started cooking the books. But the 2010s were especially tough on Barbie, previously Mattel’s crown jewel.
Competition was heating up, with higher quality dolls coming from overseas manufacturers. Meanwhile, Mattel quality declined as they cut costs. The narrowing gap allowed competitors like Bratz to gain significant market share.
Another challenge was kids outgrowing dolls around age 10 and switching to tech and entertainment. On top of that, Barbie faced backlash over promoting unrealistic body standards. While first raised in the 70s, this continued to create headwinds. Multiple studies found playing with thin dolls lowered girls’ body image.
Ultimately, Barbie sales declined to a third of their all time high in the 2010s. Things weren’t looking good, until a brand reinvention after 2015.
The Barbie Reinvention
Mattel fueled this Barbie turnaround with two major moves:
First, embracing the message that girls can imagine being anything. This allowed selling dolls of different careers while appearing progressive.
More importantly, Barbie pivoted to inclusivity in their design. While a Black Barbie existed since the 80s, it wasn’t the popular default. This time, they offered over 20 skin tones, 5 body types, and made diversity the priority.
Under President Richard Dickson and brand manager Lisa McKnight, this rebrand worked. Barbie had record sales during the pandemic, reversing decades of decline.
But the most successful effort was undoubtedly the movie, which brings us to today.
How the Barbie Movie Happened
Most don’t realize the producer, not director, is the most important role in a film. They hire the team and make the movie happen.
For Barbie, producer Robbie Brenner teamed up with Margot Robbie’s LuckyChap Entertainment. They brought on Greta Gerwig to write the script, and Robbie later took the starring role.
Executives were initially hesitant, but the CEO insisted on not blocking the creative vision. He embraced the self-deprecating humor, saying “We take our brands very seriously, but we don’t take ourselves too seriously.”
This unlikely combination — making fun of themselves while touching on real issues — led to massive success. While Barbie sales were already improving, the movie universally shifted perceptions.
I hadn’t thought about Barbie in years. Now my daughter has Barbies and watches Barbie shows on Netflix. The movie impacted parents like me in a way the brand reinvention alone couldn’t.
Conservatives attempted boycotts over the film’s progressivism, but money talks. Early data shows Barbie sales up 56%, potentially reaching record highs.
Mattel is now positioned to develop 18 more movies. Only time will tell, but the Barbie movie undisputedly marked a new era for this iconic brand.