Integrated Campaign

For young girls, Barbie allows them to imagine themselves as an astronaut to a mermaid princess. They can explore different personalities, careers and imagine a completely different worlds and all the possibilities. However, only 3 out of 10 mothers believe in the power of play.

THE CHALLENGE

Globally, Barbie is the iconic global brand that has inspired the imagination of generations of girls for over 55 years. However, in Asia where 7 in 10 parents don’t believe in the developmental benefits of imaginative play, Barbie found herself in a shrinking doll category.

Without the strong brand heritage in Asia, Barbie will never reach an iconic status in the region without first creating work that proves it’s relevance in the context of Asian parenting.

Experiment-style video for Barbie: The Power of Play
Barbie: Power of Play - Girl thinking of a story
Barbie: Power of Play - Girl thinking of a story

THE IDEA

From observing how girls play, we realized that they are more creative storytellers than adults when they play with Barbie.

Instead of scripted video, we created an experiment where we asked several girls to tell us a story. First empty handed and later letting them play with Barbie.

Through the transformation of their creative thinking, we showed moms the power of play through their own imagination and development.

THE RESULTS

The spot successfully got moms to rethink playtime and understand the developmental benefits of Barbie. We triggered conversations about playtime among Asian moms and the media. We got moms to connect with and endorse Barbie and most importantly, to buy Barbie dolls for their kids.