1 00:00:14,560 --> 00:00:17,120 Speaker 1: Hi Barbie, Hi Ken. 2 00:00:19,400 --> 00:00:23,120 Speaker 2: His Barbie, Hi Barbie, Hi Barbie, Hi Barbie, Hi Barbie 3 00:00:23,160 --> 00:00:23,919 Speaker 2: with the radio. 4 00:00:24,840 --> 00:00:27,480 Speaker 1: Hey, did you hear there's a Barbie movie coming out 5 00:00:27,480 --> 00:00:29,280 Speaker 1: this summer? Did you bring your roll the Blates? 6 00:00:30,360 --> 00:00:34,280 Speaker 3: I literally go nowhere without them. 7 00:00:34,479 --> 00:00:37,279 Speaker 1: Yeah, that would explain the hot pink invasion of the 8 00:00:37,280 --> 00:00:40,800 Speaker 1: Internet for weeks now. And Barbie's got all the makings 9 00:00:40,840 --> 00:00:45,400 Speaker 1: of a summer blockbuster, big name stars. Margot Robbie plays Barbie, 10 00:00:45,560 --> 00:00:50,279 Speaker 1: Ryan Gosling is Ken, and a viral marketing campaign that 11 00:00:50,400 --> 00:00:54,200 Speaker 1: has everyone talking. It's also got something else going for it, 12 00:00:54,600 --> 00:00:58,560 Speaker 1: a potentially massive, multi generational audience of people who have 13 00:00:58,760 --> 00:01:02,880 Speaker 1: many memories and strong feelings about this sixty four year 14 00:01:02,920 --> 00:01:07,679 Speaker 1: old dull, including the producers on the Big Take podcast team. 15 00:01:08,600 --> 00:01:11,400 Speaker 2: I do remember one year for my birthday, someone gave 16 00:01:11,440 --> 00:01:14,680 Speaker 2: me this Barbie that had hair that changed when I 17 00:01:14,720 --> 00:01:17,280 Speaker 2: got wet, so you could dip her hair into the 18 00:01:17,360 --> 00:01:21,120 Speaker 2: sink and it would turn blue and pink, and I 19 00:01:21,120 --> 00:01:21,600 Speaker 2: thought that. 20 00:01:21,560 --> 00:01:22,200 Speaker 4: Was really cool. 21 00:01:22,560 --> 00:01:26,160 Speaker 2: I am extremely excited for the movie. 22 00:01:26,319 --> 00:01:28,760 Speaker 5: I had the best of both worlds with Mattel Toys. 23 00:01:29,120 --> 00:01:31,360 Speaker 5: My parents bought me both hot wheels with the orange 24 00:01:31,440 --> 00:01:34,840 Speaker 5: racetrack and a boatload of barbiees. Sometimes I played with 25 00:01:34,880 --> 00:01:38,600 Speaker 5: them together, other times, depending on how I was feeling, 26 00:01:38,959 --> 00:01:40,560 Speaker 5: you know, I would just play with one or the other. 27 00:01:40,720 --> 00:01:43,920 Speaker 5: Most times, though, my heart's desire drove me to those 28 00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:45,240 Speaker 5: orange race tracks. 29 00:01:45,480 --> 00:01:49,400 Speaker 6: I loved Barbie as a kid. I particularly loved dressing 30 00:01:49,560 --> 00:01:52,680 Speaker 6: her up. My friend had the Barbie dream House, and 31 00:01:52,760 --> 00:01:54,120 Speaker 6: I loved to fill up the pool when I was 32 00:01:54,160 --> 00:01:56,600 Speaker 6: at my friend's house and we'd have them go swimming. 33 00:01:56,760 --> 00:01:59,040 Speaker 6: I did have fun as I got older cutting her hair, 34 00:01:59,200 --> 00:02:01,559 Speaker 6: and then I realiz it didn't grow back. 35 00:02:01,840 --> 00:02:04,240 Speaker 7: I never really liked Barbie's when I was a kid. 36 00:02:04,520 --> 00:02:08,720 Speaker 2: One birthday someone gave me a Barbie Weed roller. 37 00:02:08,480 --> 00:02:11,800 Speaker 7: Place and I was like, eh, okay, but it seemed expensive, 38 00:02:11,880 --> 00:02:12,400 Speaker 7: so I was like. 39 00:02:12,400 --> 00:02:13,680 Speaker 8: Okay, nice. 40 00:02:14,080 --> 00:02:15,880 Speaker 9: I think after a rough couple of years, you know, 41 00:02:15,919 --> 00:02:19,080 Speaker 9: with the pandemic and everything, it's really nice to just 42 00:02:19,120 --> 00:02:20,760 Speaker 9: have a movie where you can go in and think 43 00:02:20,760 --> 00:02:25,520 Speaker 9: about nothing. It's fun, it's flirty, it's colorful, and overall 44 00:02:25,520 --> 00:02:28,400 Speaker 9: it's Barbie Like. That's the best kind of summer movie 45 00:02:28,400 --> 00:02:29,160 Speaker 9: that you could ask for. 46 00:02:29,560 --> 00:02:32,440 Speaker 1: But Barbie's maker, Mattel, isn't just hoping for a hit 47 00:02:32,480 --> 00:02:36,080 Speaker 1: in theaters. Barbie sales have fluctuated over the years, the 48 00:02:36,120 --> 00:02:40,320 Speaker 1: companies struggled to make this all important but aging product 49 00:02:40,360 --> 00:02:43,480 Speaker 1: line relevant today, and for a lot of parents, that 50 00:02:43,639 --> 00:02:47,880 Speaker 1: original Barbie esthetic, the permanent high heels, the pink convertible, 51 00:02:47,960 --> 00:02:51,120 Speaker 1: the dream house is the opposite of what they want 52 00:02:51,200 --> 00:02:54,919 Speaker 1: their kids to emulate and aspire to be. Bloomberg's Kelly 53 00:02:54,960 --> 00:02:57,880 Speaker 1: Gilblum writes in BusinessWeek that one aim of the movie 54 00:02:58,000 --> 00:03:01,880 Speaker 1: is to get those skeptics to see matel reimagine Barbie 55 00:03:01,880 --> 00:03:05,320 Speaker 1: in a new light, and hopefully turn them into customers, 56 00:03:05,400 --> 00:03:10,680 Speaker 1: all while not doing anything to disappoint Barbie's intensely loyal fans. 57 00:03:11,280 --> 00:03:14,640 Speaker 7: It was always pretty risky to try to put a 58 00:03:14,720 --> 00:03:19,240 Speaker 7: movie out about the doll, because it's so personal and 59 00:03:19,280 --> 00:03:22,000 Speaker 7: the emotions are so heightened around her that it was 60 00:03:22,040 --> 00:03:22,920 Speaker 7: got to backfire. 61 00:03:28,200 --> 00:03:31,440 Speaker 1: I'm Wescasova today on the big take Barbie's high Stake 62 00:03:31,520 --> 00:03:44,040 Speaker 1: debut on the Pink Carpet. Kelly, I think if you 63 00:03:44,080 --> 00:03:47,880 Speaker 1: have an Internet connection, it's been pretty impossible to avoid 64 00:03:48,000 --> 00:03:50,480 Speaker 1: Barbie movie hype. And I think a lot of people 65 00:03:50,640 --> 00:03:53,120 Speaker 1: and I'm one of them, thought, oh, this will be 66 00:03:53,160 --> 00:03:56,320 Speaker 1: a fun summer movie. But you and our colleague Thomas 67 00:03:56,360 --> 00:03:59,640 Speaker 1: Buckley Wright in this story that this movie is really 68 00:03:59,640 --> 00:04:03,240 Speaker 1: important and there's a lot at stake. Why is this 69 00:04:03,440 --> 00:04:07,680 Speaker 1: such a big important moment for Mattel. 70 00:04:06,880 --> 00:04:09,520 Speaker 7: When you think about how the company is structured, Their 71 00:04:09,560 --> 00:04:13,560 Speaker 7: biggest brand and their biggest source of revenue is Barbie. 72 00:04:13,560 --> 00:04:16,240 Speaker 7: This is a brand they invented in the nineteen fifties, 73 00:04:16,680 --> 00:04:19,479 Speaker 7: has been the best selling doll of all time. It's 74 00:04:19,560 --> 00:04:23,239 Speaker 7: completely iconic, and it's kind of the way Barbie goes 75 00:04:23,279 --> 00:04:26,640 Speaker 7: the way Mattel goes in terms of how the company fares. 76 00:04:27,120 --> 00:04:30,200 Speaker 7: But Barbie's sort of interesting in that the way she 77 00:04:30,360 --> 00:04:34,520 Speaker 7: was invented was to have an incredibly personal connection to 78 00:04:34,880 --> 00:04:37,920 Speaker 7: the little girls that play with her, and that they're 79 00:04:37,960 --> 00:04:43,160 Speaker 7: supposed to envision themselves as adults in playing with Barbie's. 80 00:04:43,880 --> 00:04:47,960 Speaker 7: With this reputation of the doll at stake, they really 81 00:04:48,040 --> 00:04:50,640 Speaker 7: have to get it right. They really have to show 82 00:04:51,040 --> 00:04:54,080 Speaker 7: that they can connect with that customer again, that they 83 00:04:54,160 --> 00:04:56,640 Speaker 7: can be something like a role model. 84 00:04:57,200 --> 00:05:01,320 Speaker 1: Kelly, you said that Mattel's biggest is the Barbie doll 85 00:05:01,360 --> 00:05:04,400 Speaker 1: and has been for a really long time. How much 86 00:05:04,440 --> 00:05:06,520 Speaker 1: money is Barbie worth to Mattel? 87 00:05:07,080 --> 00:05:11,400 Speaker 7: Barbie is worth about a third of its overall revenue. 88 00:05:12,000 --> 00:05:14,520 Speaker 7: At its peak, it was close to two billion a year. 89 00:05:15,000 --> 00:05:17,760 Speaker 7: It's gone all the way down to nine hundred million 90 00:05:17,839 --> 00:05:22,200 Speaker 7: in recent years, but it is the biggest sales driver 91 00:05:22,279 --> 00:05:24,960 Speaker 7: of the company and probably the most profitable item that 92 00:05:25,000 --> 00:05:25,479 Speaker 7: they sell. 93 00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:28,640 Speaker 1: And as you say, it's kind of come down, and 94 00:05:29,040 --> 00:05:30,760 Speaker 1: some of that has to do, I guess with the 95 00:05:30,800 --> 00:05:34,760 Speaker 1: pandemic when toy sales were just gangbusters for everything over the. 96 00:05:34,640 --> 00:05:37,840 Speaker 7: Past few years, Barbie's head ups and downs. They did 97 00:05:37,880 --> 00:05:40,840 Speaker 7: a big makeover the doll in twenty sixteen. Sales went up, 98 00:05:40,920 --> 00:05:43,919 Speaker 7: So when the pandemic happened and there was an overall 99 00:05:43,960 --> 00:05:46,479 Speaker 7: boom in toy sales, they were well positioned for that 100 00:05:46,880 --> 00:05:50,760 Speaker 7: and sales skyrocketed. But then in recent years there's been inflation, 101 00:05:50,920 --> 00:05:54,120 Speaker 7: there's been economic malaise, and things have kind of fallen 102 00:05:54,240 --> 00:05:55,960 Speaker 7: back down and normalized again. 103 00:05:58,800 --> 00:06:02,880 Speaker 1: Kelly, you mentioned that the company had reimagined Barbie. Why 104 00:06:02,920 --> 00:06:05,960 Speaker 1: did they feel like they needed to reinvent her or 105 00:06:06,080 --> 00:06:07,080 Speaker 1: change the way she was? 106 00:06:07,839 --> 00:06:11,960 Speaker 7: So the way Barbie has traditionally been, you know, has 107 00:06:12,040 --> 00:06:15,320 Speaker 7: been very close to the roots of her invention in 108 00:06:15,360 --> 00:06:19,120 Speaker 7: the nineteen fifties, and it was based on a gold 109 00:06:19,160 --> 00:06:22,200 Speaker 7: digging comic strip character, and she was kind of like 110 00:06:22,200 --> 00:06:28,240 Speaker 7: this archetype of a bombshell blonde, Marilyn Monroe type of figure, 111 00:06:28,839 --> 00:06:32,119 Speaker 7: and they pretty much stayed close to that for most 112 00:06:32,160 --> 00:06:35,400 Speaker 7: of her history. You know, there were some studies that said, like, 113 00:06:35,440 --> 00:06:38,120 Speaker 7: you know, if you put Barbie into a real life 114 00:06:38,200 --> 00:06:41,040 Speaker 7: human forms, you wouldn't have enough space in her midsection 115 00:06:41,160 --> 00:06:43,680 Speaker 7: to fit her intestines. She wouldn't be able to lift 116 00:06:43,680 --> 00:06:47,560 Speaker 7: her head up. It was just very preposterous the kind 117 00:06:47,600 --> 00:06:51,760 Speaker 7: of anatomy that she had, and so the reimagining of 118 00:06:51,839 --> 00:06:56,040 Speaker 7: it was to make it more realistic and also appealing 119 00:06:56,080 --> 00:07:01,080 Speaker 7: to a broader group of young girls. If the doll 120 00:07:01,200 --> 00:07:04,080 Speaker 7: is meant to be a projection of their future selves, 121 00:07:04,400 --> 00:07:08,760 Speaker 7: you just cannot imagine playing adult with a doll that 122 00:07:09,120 --> 00:07:10,600 Speaker 7: just will never be you. 123 00:07:11,360 --> 00:07:13,480 Speaker 1: And Kelly, one of the things in the story that 124 00:07:13,560 --> 00:07:17,640 Speaker 1: you write about is that as Barbie seemed no longer 125 00:07:17,960 --> 00:07:22,640 Speaker 1: kind of relevant and girls no longer saw themselves in Barbie, 126 00:07:22,720 --> 00:07:28,120 Speaker 1: other doll makers moved in to clean that cultural relevance. 127 00:07:29,280 --> 00:07:32,440 Speaker 7: Yeah, they really kind of lost their way, the Mattel 128 00:07:32,520 --> 00:07:36,360 Speaker 7: executives did, I would say starting in the early two thousands. 129 00:07:36,760 --> 00:07:40,520 Speaker 7: That's when the real crisis for Barbie began. It started 130 00:07:40,520 --> 00:07:43,200 Speaker 7: because they had a disastrous acquisition that costs a lot 131 00:07:43,200 --> 00:07:46,360 Speaker 7: of money, and a CEO is a great steward of 132 00:07:46,400 --> 00:07:50,640 Speaker 7: Barbie left the company as a result of that acquisition 133 00:07:50,720 --> 00:07:53,480 Speaker 7: going sour, and so they had the people come in 134 00:07:54,040 --> 00:07:58,360 Speaker 7: and they just weren't as good at connecting. They've done 135 00:07:58,360 --> 00:08:02,600 Speaker 7: well under male leadership before, but it was hard, I guess, 136 00:08:02,640 --> 00:08:05,160 Speaker 7: for those particular men that were CEOs at the time 137 00:08:05,240 --> 00:08:08,160 Speaker 7: to connect with that young girl mindset. For some reason, 138 00:08:08,960 --> 00:08:13,080 Speaker 7: as these years were going on, they had competitors come in, 139 00:08:13,280 --> 00:08:16,440 Speaker 7: which wasn't like the first time that had ever happened, 140 00:08:16,680 --> 00:08:18,800 Speaker 7: but they weren't able to respond to it in a 141 00:08:18,800 --> 00:08:22,960 Speaker 7: good way. The first was an actual MATEL designer who 142 00:08:23,000 --> 00:08:27,000 Speaker 7: worked on Barbie created a new design for some dolls 143 00:08:27,040 --> 00:08:28,200 Speaker 7: called Brats. 144 00:08:30,320 --> 00:08:32,319 Speaker 4: Passions. 145 00:08:33,360 --> 00:08:35,080 Speaker 7: They were more diverse, they were cool. 146 00:08:35,679 --> 00:08:38,080 Speaker 1: I remember those dolls when my daughters were young. They 147 00:08:38,080 --> 00:08:40,640 Speaker 1: were just everywhere. Brats were the doll. 148 00:08:41,120 --> 00:08:44,160 Speaker 7: Oh yeah, they were huge. They got to a billion 149 00:08:44,240 --> 00:08:48,360 Speaker 7: dollars in sales pretty quickly, which took Barbie forty years. 150 00:08:50,200 --> 00:08:52,880 Speaker 7: Mattel just got involved in lawsuits and that I got 151 00:08:52,960 --> 00:08:57,760 Speaker 7: totally mired and arguing over that rather than trying to 152 00:08:57,800 --> 00:09:01,680 Speaker 7: address their own product and putting their attention there. And 153 00:09:01,720 --> 00:09:04,000 Speaker 7: at the same time, you know, they also had this license. 154 00:09:04,000 --> 00:09:07,120 Speaker 7: They've had a long term partnership with Disney to create 155 00:09:07,559 --> 00:09:12,079 Speaker 7: toys based on their intellectual property Disney you know, franchises, 156 00:09:12,520 --> 00:09:15,439 Speaker 7: and one of them was Disney Princesses. So they were 157 00:09:15,480 --> 00:09:20,320 Speaker 7: making these Disney Princesses dolls also making Barbies, and they 158 00:09:20,320 --> 00:09:23,360 Speaker 7: were kind of competing against each other within the company 159 00:09:23,440 --> 00:09:27,880 Speaker 7: even and the Disney Princess dolls were doing extremely well, 160 00:09:27,920 --> 00:09:31,240 Speaker 7: the Princess movies were doing extremely well, and I think 161 00:09:31,240 --> 00:09:36,240 Speaker 7: it just caused further atrophying of their focus on Barbie. Eventually, 162 00:09:36,320 --> 00:09:41,960 Speaker 7: what happened was Disney wasn't super happy Hasbro, their you know, 163 00:09:42,080 --> 00:09:46,240 Speaker 7: a long time rival for many many decades, was doing 164 00:09:46,880 --> 00:09:51,920 Speaker 7: also well by making really big movies based on their toys, 165 00:09:51,920 --> 00:09:55,240 Speaker 7: mostly Transformers was the first one, and so they argued 166 00:09:55,240 --> 00:09:58,640 Speaker 7: to Disney they should get the Disney Princess license taken away, 167 00:09:58,760 --> 00:10:02,480 Speaker 7: and that just showed how badly Barbie was performing. Once 168 00:10:02,520 --> 00:10:06,400 Speaker 7: they didn't have those doll sales figures to compensate for 169 00:10:06,440 --> 00:10:09,080 Speaker 7: the Barbie losses anymore. So it was just a lot 170 00:10:09,160 --> 00:10:11,840 Speaker 7: of things that were going on at the same time, 171 00:10:11,920 --> 00:10:14,280 Speaker 7: and they were really they really lost the way because 172 00:10:14,280 --> 00:10:18,280 Speaker 7: they were trying to follow their competitors, and then under 173 00:10:18,280 --> 00:10:21,199 Speaker 7: this era, they were just trying to copy Disney princesses. 174 00:10:21,240 --> 00:10:24,160 Speaker 7: They were trying to copy brats instead of trying to 175 00:10:24,160 --> 00:10:26,280 Speaker 7: do their own thing and stay in tune with what 176 00:10:26,360 --> 00:10:31,280 Speaker 7: girls actually cared and talked about. What partly spurred on 177 00:10:31,840 --> 00:10:36,560 Speaker 7: the body makeover of Barbie in twenty sixteen was market 178 00:10:36,600 --> 00:10:41,640 Speaker 7: research that Mattel did, internal research that showed moms hated Barbie's. 179 00:10:41,840 --> 00:10:44,480 Speaker 7: They would not buy them for their daughters. They just 180 00:10:44,480 --> 00:10:49,240 Speaker 7: wouldn't do it. That partly has eased as they have 181 00:10:49,640 --> 00:10:53,000 Speaker 7: done a lot to improve their image. I wouldn't say 182 00:10:53,000 --> 00:10:56,480 Speaker 7: they have one hundred percent fixed this issue. So there's 183 00:10:56,520 --> 00:11:00,119 Speaker 7: still some research out there that's showing people are still 184 00:11:00,160 --> 00:11:02,800 Speaker 7: associating it the old way, no matter how you know 185 00:11:02,920 --> 00:11:05,120 Speaker 7: much they've done with the actual new toys. 186 00:11:05,640 --> 00:11:08,680 Speaker 1: How does the Barbie of today look different from that 187 00:11:09,000 --> 00:11:10,400 Speaker 1: original Barbie? 188 00:11:10,760 --> 00:11:15,240 Speaker 7: So the Barbie of today comes in many different body types, 189 00:11:15,480 --> 00:11:21,319 Speaker 7: many different skin tones, many different hair color, hair type, 190 00:11:21,440 --> 00:11:24,760 Speaker 7: eye color, as possible you can be with the limits 191 00:11:24,760 --> 00:11:29,880 Speaker 7: of manufacturing. They're broadening it out to include various types 192 00:11:29,920 --> 00:11:33,199 Speaker 7: of physical abilities that people have. They have Barbies in 193 00:11:33,240 --> 00:11:35,679 Speaker 7: a wheelchair, they have Barbies with hearing aids, they have 194 00:11:35,760 --> 00:11:39,760 Speaker 7: Barbies who have limb differences. They have all sorts of 195 00:11:39,800 --> 00:11:43,320 Speaker 7: different types of Barbies, and they will probably continue to 196 00:11:43,400 --> 00:11:43,920 Speaker 7: widen that. 197 00:11:46,000 --> 00:11:50,080 Speaker 1: And has that sparked a Barbie revival in sales that 198 00:11:50,240 --> 00:11:53,600 Speaker 1: all kinds of different girls can see themselves, see their 199 00:11:53,640 --> 00:11:56,520 Speaker 1: future selves in Barbie in a way that they couldn't before. 200 00:11:56,960 --> 00:12:02,839 Speaker 7: Yes, it's definitely sparked reverval and sales. I wouldn't say 201 00:12:02,920 --> 00:12:07,400 Speaker 7: they're at their past glory again. The peak sales was 202 00:12:07,400 --> 00:12:10,720 Speaker 7: in nineteen ninety seven when they had the perfect eighties 203 00:12:10,800 --> 00:12:14,760 Speaker 7: working girls or nineties you know, big hair Barbie that 204 00:12:14,960 --> 00:12:18,560 Speaker 7: was really appealing to little girls. So they've not quite 205 00:12:18,600 --> 00:12:22,840 Speaker 7: got to that level again, but it definitely has improved things. 206 00:12:23,040 --> 00:12:27,720 Speaker 7: And also with the different body types of Barbie's, you 207 00:12:27,760 --> 00:12:29,720 Speaker 7: have to keep in mind that a big portion of 208 00:12:29,720 --> 00:12:33,920 Speaker 7: sales of Barbie is the accessories. So the clothes, the house, 209 00:12:34,040 --> 00:12:37,280 Speaker 7: the car, those were all designed for the old Barbie 210 00:12:37,280 --> 00:12:40,440 Speaker 7: body type. So the new Barbie you kind of have 211 00:12:40,480 --> 00:12:43,080 Speaker 7: to get new stuff to go along with that. So 212 00:12:43,160 --> 00:12:46,720 Speaker 7: it's kind of had an additional boost of their ability 213 00:12:46,760 --> 00:12:49,280 Speaker 7: to sell a new car that the Kirby Barbie can 214 00:12:49,280 --> 00:12:51,720 Speaker 7: fit into and the new clothes that she can wear. 215 00:12:52,360 --> 00:12:57,360 Speaker 1: Since Barbie sales haven't rebounded enough, they're hoping that this 216 00:12:57,640 --> 00:13:01,960 Speaker 1: movie is going to re kindle America's love of Barbie 217 00:13:02,000 --> 00:13:03,560 Speaker 1: and start selling lots more of them. 218 00:13:04,200 --> 00:13:07,679 Speaker 7: Yeah, exactly. If you look at the history of Barbie, 219 00:13:08,040 --> 00:13:11,320 Speaker 7: the times when the sales have been really good and 220 00:13:11,400 --> 00:13:14,120 Speaker 7: everything's been going really well for the company at large 221 00:13:14,160 --> 00:13:16,560 Speaker 7: is when they've created something that they kind of call 222 00:13:16,640 --> 00:13:19,839 Speaker 7: a cultural moment. When the Space Race was on, they 223 00:13:19,880 --> 00:13:22,400 Speaker 7: made Barbie like an astronaut and she was one of 224 00:13:22,400 --> 00:13:26,120 Speaker 7: the first women, you know, to go to space. 225 00:13:27,920 --> 00:13:31,480 Speaker 4: And body, I think that. 226 00:13:31,800 --> 00:13:49,280 Speaker 7: Body and just kind of keeping up with like these 227 00:13:49,320 --> 00:13:53,120 Speaker 7: things that create a huge conversation and everybody's talking about 228 00:13:53,160 --> 00:13:58,240 Speaker 7: the doll. That buzz is usually enough to keep people interested, 229 00:13:58,760 --> 00:14:03,520 Speaker 7: even if it's sometimes criticism or negativity, And that's exactly 230 00:14:03,520 --> 00:14:05,720 Speaker 7: what they're trying to do with this movie and why 231 00:14:05,800 --> 00:14:09,160 Speaker 7: you see the marketing of it is insane. They are 232 00:14:09,200 --> 00:14:13,240 Speaker 7: trying to make this doll just a subject of conversation 233 00:14:13,440 --> 00:14:16,079 Speaker 7: again and create this kind of cultural moment that make 234 00:14:16,320 --> 00:14:18,280 Speaker 7: girls feel like this is it, this is now, this 235 00:14:18,440 --> 00:14:19,320 Speaker 7: is the cool thing. 236 00:14:20,280 --> 00:14:23,080 Speaker 1: After the break. How the Barbie movie came together. 237 00:14:32,160 --> 00:14:37,160 Speaker 10: I remember I had about three huge boxes for Barbies 238 00:14:37,200 --> 00:14:40,480 Speaker 10: that were gifted to me, and I was not particularly 239 00:14:40,520 --> 00:14:44,520 Speaker 10: interested in them. I remember the funniest part was each 240 00:14:44,560 --> 00:14:47,160 Speaker 10: Barbie will be used about once to have their hair 241 00:14:47,240 --> 00:14:50,440 Speaker 10: chopped off and then forgotten for the rest of time. 242 00:14:50,520 --> 00:14:54,000 Speaker 8: My first memory of a Barbie is Bacomi, Columbia, when 243 00:14:54,000 --> 00:14:57,440 Speaker 8: I used to steal my cousins Barbies so I can 244 00:14:57,680 --> 00:15:01,560 Speaker 8: use Barbie as a get away driver and use her 245 00:15:01,640 --> 00:15:03,840 Speaker 8: car for my Batman figurines. 246 00:15:04,280 --> 00:15:08,480 Speaker 4: So I never played with Barbie's at all. I was 247 00:15:08,480 --> 00:15:13,479 Speaker 4: more interested in Star Wars, action figures and Transformers. 248 00:15:13,840 --> 00:15:15,520 Speaker 5: But this didn't. 249 00:15:15,200 --> 00:15:18,240 Speaker 4: Stop my mother, who so desperately wanted to have a 250 00:15:18,240 --> 00:15:24,080 Speaker 4: girly daughter, from purchasing the special holiday edition Barbie every 251 00:15:24,240 --> 00:15:25,000 Speaker 4: single year. 252 00:15:25,160 --> 00:15:26,920 Speaker 3: I never really played with Barbie as a kid. I 253 00:15:26,960 --> 00:15:30,240 Speaker 3: mostly remember, just like the intense amount of parity that 254 00:15:30,360 --> 00:15:33,720 Speaker 3: existed in like media, she was more often like as 255 00:15:33,760 --> 00:15:36,040 Speaker 3: a brand, a butt of jokes than actually like the 256 00:15:36,080 --> 00:15:37,800 Speaker 3: main character Kelly. 257 00:15:37,840 --> 00:15:41,440 Speaker 1: So now Mattau has decided to make this movie, which 258 00:15:41,560 --> 00:15:44,160 Speaker 1: they think is going to revive Barbie, and they know 259 00:15:44,480 --> 00:15:47,200 Speaker 1: that they've got to get it right. And you tell 260 00:15:47,280 --> 00:15:52,000 Speaker 1: in this story how they went about creating this kind 261 00:15:52,040 --> 00:15:54,520 Speaker 1: of make or break movie. 262 00:15:54,800 --> 00:15:58,240 Speaker 7: Yeah, it was a fascinating process because you know, I 263 00:15:58,240 --> 00:16:01,320 Speaker 7: don't even know how many Barbie scripts have been written 264 00:16:01,400 --> 00:16:04,000 Speaker 7: over the years, but this was an idea that was 265 00:16:04,080 --> 00:16:09,400 Speaker 7: long running around Hollywood, running around the company. When it 266 00:16:09,520 --> 00:16:13,520 Speaker 7: really got off the ground was in twenty eighteen Inonchrist 267 00:16:13,600 --> 00:16:17,040 Speaker 7: who is from the entertainment world, has never worked in toys. 268 00:16:17,360 --> 00:16:20,120 Speaker 7: Came from a place called Maker Studios, and he also 269 00:16:20,120 --> 00:16:22,320 Speaker 7: worked at Fox Kids Europe, and so he knows a 270 00:16:22,360 --> 00:16:28,840 Speaker 7: lot about actually creating television content. That's his focus. And 271 00:16:28,880 --> 00:16:33,120 Speaker 7: he said, we need to be an intellectual property company. 272 00:16:33,240 --> 00:16:36,240 Speaker 7: We need to be in the business of managing franchises. 273 00:16:36,880 --> 00:16:39,920 Speaker 11: And the opportunity was to continue to succeed in the 274 00:16:39,920 --> 00:16:44,120 Speaker 11: toy business, fix that area. That that is our foundation. 275 00:16:44,680 --> 00:16:48,360 Speaker 11: This is what we build, an emotional relationship with our fans. 276 00:16:48,960 --> 00:16:52,160 Speaker 11: And from there, once you have that in a good place, 277 00:16:52,280 --> 00:16:55,040 Speaker 11: you can extend the business and grow into other verticals. 278 00:16:55,280 --> 00:16:58,360 Speaker 1: That's Mittel CEO and non Cries and a little plug 279 00:16:58,400 --> 00:17:00,960 Speaker 1: for the home team here. It's from an interview on 280 00:17:01,040 --> 00:17:05,119 Speaker 1: an upcoming episode of the Bloomberg original series called The 281 00:17:05,160 --> 00:17:07,200 Speaker 1: Circuit with Emily Chang. 282 00:17:09,680 --> 00:17:12,480 Speaker 7: So enon Christ He took the lay of the land 283 00:17:12,600 --> 00:17:15,119 Speaker 7: and he saw, you know, there's this script going around 284 00:17:15,119 --> 00:17:18,360 Speaker 7: for Barbie. They had all sorts of different ideas for it. 285 00:17:19,040 --> 00:17:23,480 Speaker 7: One had Amy Schumer attached, and she was gonna be 286 00:17:24,080 --> 00:17:26,919 Speaker 7: you know, it's kind of like this parody and she 287 00:17:27,080 --> 00:17:29,879 Speaker 7: was kicked out of a perfect Barbie world and she 288 00:17:30,040 --> 00:17:33,600 Speaker 7: goes on these zany adventures. Nobody really liked it. He 289 00:17:33,680 --> 00:17:36,560 Speaker 7: didn't like it. It was making fun of the doll. It 290 00:17:36,680 --> 00:17:38,600 Speaker 7: kind of made the doll the butt of the joke. 291 00:17:38,920 --> 00:17:42,920 Speaker 1: He kind of replicated the whole criticism of Barbie, which 292 00:17:43,000 --> 00:17:45,880 Speaker 1: is that she was always kind of not really competent 293 00:17:45,960 --> 00:17:46,960 Speaker 1: and depended on men. 294 00:17:47,480 --> 00:17:48,280 Speaker 10: Yeah. 295 00:17:48,600 --> 00:17:52,320 Speaker 7: I also think the company didn't exactly know how to 296 00:17:52,400 --> 00:17:55,920 Speaker 7: do this. They never had a blockbuster. They've had one 297 00:17:56,080 --> 00:17:59,600 Speaker 7: like feature film now totally bombed and it horribly called 298 00:17:59,640 --> 00:18:02,200 Speaker 7: Max Deal. Then sowing On said, look, I'm going to 299 00:18:02,240 --> 00:18:05,520 Speaker 7: take charge of this. I'm gonna start my own movie division. 300 00:18:05,720 --> 00:18:08,040 Speaker 7: I'm gonna have my own person run it, who's like 301 00:18:08,080 --> 00:18:11,840 Speaker 7: a very serious Hollywood player, and we're going to do 302 00:18:11,880 --> 00:18:13,399 Speaker 7: it differently in the sense that we're not even going 303 00:18:13,440 --> 00:18:15,800 Speaker 7: to bother these filmmakers. We're going to just let them 304 00:18:16,080 --> 00:18:19,399 Speaker 7: do what they do. Even if we don't like every 305 00:18:19,440 --> 00:18:21,880 Speaker 7: single thing that they say, and maybe they make us 306 00:18:21,920 --> 00:18:24,720 Speaker 7: look a little goofy, it's worth it to make great 307 00:18:24,800 --> 00:18:26,760 Speaker 7: content because that has to be the goal. 308 00:18:27,119 --> 00:18:29,480 Speaker 1: I guess one of the reasons that they had the 309 00:18:29,560 --> 00:18:32,000 Speaker 1: confidence to do that, to go let them do their thing, 310 00:18:32,119 --> 00:18:35,399 Speaker 1: is they attracted some top Hollywood talent to work on 311 00:18:35,440 --> 00:18:36,560 Speaker 1: this movie. 312 00:18:36,880 --> 00:18:41,280 Speaker 7: Yeah, getting the right person to run the movie division 313 00:18:41,760 --> 00:18:45,879 Speaker 7: that was a big key to getting the right talent. 314 00:18:46,680 --> 00:18:49,919 Speaker 7: Yon speaks frequently with Richard love It. He's a co 315 00:18:50,040 --> 00:18:54,200 Speaker 7: chairman at Creative Artists Agencies, very powerful Hollywood agency, and 316 00:18:54,240 --> 00:18:57,240 Speaker 7: he helped get all these people in line for Mattel. 317 00:18:57,640 --> 00:18:59,440 Speaker 7: One of his first orders of businesses he wanted to 318 00:18:59,440 --> 00:19:02,680 Speaker 7: meet Margo when he became the CEO, and within six 319 00:19:02,760 --> 00:19:05,439 Speaker 7: weeks of getting to that position, he was at the 320 00:19:05,440 --> 00:19:09,000 Speaker 7: Polo Lounge at the Beverly Hills Hotel with Margot Robbie 321 00:19:09,000 --> 00:19:11,320 Speaker 7: because he saw her as a barbie. 322 00:19:11,680 --> 00:19:14,040 Speaker 1: Why why did he see her as a barbie? Other 323 00:19:14,119 --> 00:19:16,480 Speaker 1: than the obvious which is she looks like a Barbie. 324 00:19:16,640 --> 00:19:22,120 Speaker 7: She's very consistently successful. She's a successful producer. She's got 325 00:19:22,160 --> 00:19:26,560 Speaker 7: her own company, Lucky Chap Entertainment, Oscar nominated, done a 326 00:19:26,600 --> 00:19:30,119 Speaker 7: wide variety of film and also a lot of women 327 00:19:30,520 --> 00:19:35,080 Speaker 7: focus filmmaking. She's just very wide appeal to the sort 328 00:19:35,080 --> 00:19:36,760 Speaker 7: of people that they want to speak to. 329 00:19:39,960 --> 00:19:44,000 Speaker 1: So Mattel landed this superstar to play Barbie really important. 330 00:19:44,240 --> 00:19:47,080 Speaker 1: But then there were also the other people working on 331 00:19:47,119 --> 00:19:49,720 Speaker 1: the film to actually write it and make it. 332 00:19:50,200 --> 00:19:53,480 Speaker 7: That's right along the way. He also got Robbie Brenner 333 00:19:53,760 --> 00:19:56,440 Speaker 7: to run the whole Mattel Film division, and she's a 334 00:19:56,560 --> 00:20:00,879 Speaker 7: very powerful Hollywood producer, probably best known for now Spyers Club. 335 00:20:01,080 --> 00:20:03,560 Speaker 12: We wanted to make sure that we were telling a 336 00:20:03,600 --> 00:20:07,000 Speaker 12: story that felt very universal and very global, and it 337 00:20:07,080 --> 00:20:11,040 Speaker 12: wasn't just for girls or women, but it also appealed 338 00:20:11,040 --> 00:20:13,480 Speaker 12: to men as well, and we just wanted to do 339 00:20:14,040 --> 00:20:16,439 Speaker 12: something that sort of could embrace everybody. 340 00:20:17,200 --> 00:20:20,560 Speaker 7: And then as Robbie Brenner and Margot Robbie were in 341 00:20:20,640 --> 00:20:23,720 Speaker 7: conversations and working on the movie together, it was Margot 342 00:20:23,840 --> 00:20:27,800 Speaker 7: Robbie that actually suggested you should get Greta Gerwig to 343 00:20:27,920 --> 00:20:32,000 Speaker 7: do the screenplay, and she's really dominant in a ton 344 00:20:32,040 --> 00:20:35,760 Speaker 7: of this female coming of age genre, probably best known 345 00:20:35,800 --> 00:20:40,680 Speaker 7: for Ladybird, which is somewhat autobiographical movie of her growing 346 00:20:40,760 --> 00:20:44,560 Speaker 7: up in Sacramento, and then Little Women, which is the 347 00:20:44,560 --> 00:20:48,560 Speaker 7: classic retelling the novel of you know, women trying to 348 00:20:48,600 --> 00:20:51,639 Speaker 7: make it in this man's world. Greta by her was 349 00:20:51,800 --> 00:20:55,520 Speaker 7: said yes pretty much right away and got her partner, 350 00:20:55,960 --> 00:21:00,000 Speaker 7: Noah Bambach to sign on too, and they wrote the screw. 351 00:21:00,280 --> 00:21:04,160 Speaker 7: They did it pretty much without interference, and then they 352 00:21:04,160 --> 00:21:06,520 Speaker 7: got very attached to the script and Greta ended up 353 00:21:06,520 --> 00:21:07,840 Speaker 7: becoming the director as well. 354 00:21:08,400 --> 00:21:10,600 Speaker 1: And you write that the script they came up with 355 00:21:11,119 --> 00:21:14,840 Speaker 1: was unlike anything they probably would have imagined that they 356 00:21:14,880 --> 00:21:17,560 Speaker 1: would have come up with for a Barbie movie. 357 00:21:17,840 --> 00:21:21,520 Speaker 7: Yeah, the script was interesting, you know in Nana said 358 00:21:21,560 --> 00:21:24,479 Speaker 7: he didn't want something conventional, and she certainly didn't deliver 359 00:21:24,640 --> 00:21:28,560 Speaker 7: something conventional. She decided, instead of making Barbie the butt 360 00:21:28,600 --> 00:21:31,199 Speaker 7: of the joke, make the Mattel executives the butt of 361 00:21:31,240 --> 00:21:33,960 Speaker 7: the joke and makes fun of the way they kind 362 00:21:33,960 --> 00:21:38,639 Speaker 7: of managed this brand and all the circumstances that Barbie 363 00:21:38,880 --> 00:21:43,760 Speaker 7: and female and Little Girls all the face in real life. 364 00:21:44,680 --> 00:21:48,040 Speaker 1: So since this movie is in one way supposed to 365 00:21:48,040 --> 00:21:51,480 Speaker 1: operate as an ad for Barbie, how did Mattel executives 366 00:21:51,840 --> 00:21:53,800 Speaker 1: react when they saw this script that was kind of 367 00:21:53,840 --> 00:21:54,760 Speaker 1: poking fun at them. 368 00:21:55,200 --> 00:21:57,840 Speaker 7: They say, they laughed really hard, and they thought it 369 00:21:57,880 --> 00:22:01,040 Speaker 7: was hilarious, and they, you know, we're totally in on 370 00:22:01,119 --> 00:22:04,440 Speaker 7: the joke. I imagine there was a little bit of humility 371 00:22:04,480 --> 00:22:07,840 Speaker 7: that they had to accept with this, but they did. 372 00:22:09,600 --> 00:22:13,960 Speaker 1: When we come back Mattel Goo's full tilt with Barbie merchandise. 373 00:22:23,320 --> 00:22:25,080 Speaker 4: When I was a kid, it was kind of a 374 00:22:25,119 --> 00:22:30,159 Speaker 4: house divided. My sister loved the Barbies and I loved 375 00:22:30,280 --> 00:22:33,439 Speaker 4: the hot Wheels, so there was conflict for a while 376 00:22:34,160 --> 00:22:36,600 Speaker 4: until eventually we just decided that the hot wheels and 377 00:22:36,640 --> 00:22:38,760 Speaker 4: Barbiees were friends, and the hot wheels were sentient and 378 00:22:38,800 --> 00:22:40,359 Speaker 4: they could all talk to each other, and then that 379 00:22:40,520 --> 00:22:44,080 Speaker 4: was just like a weird car Barbie commune. I remember 380 00:22:44,119 --> 00:22:47,760 Speaker 4: playing with Barbie's growing up, especially with my older sisters 381 00:22:48,040 --> 00:22:50,800 Speaker 4: and now my nieces play with those Barbies. 382 00:22:51,000 --> 00:22:53,000 Speaker 9: Barbie means so much to me because it was one 383 00:22:53,040 --> 00:22:54,960 Speaker 9: of the first toys that I ever felt represented in. 384 00:22:55,240 --> 00:22:57,760 Speaker 9: You always think of Barbie as this really tall woman 385 00:22:58,000 --> 00:23:01,600 Speaker 9: with blonde hair and high heat and blue eyes. But actually, 386 00:23:01,600 --> 00:23:03,080 Speaker 9: when I went to India for the first time as 387 00:23:03,080 --> 00:23:06,000 Speaker 9: a kid, I remember picking out two Barbies that looked 388 00:23:06,040 --> 00:23:07,639 Speaker 9: just like me. You know, they had hair down to 389 00:23:07,680 --> 00:23:10,600 Speaker 9: their hips and they were wearing traditional Indian langas. 390 00:23:11,200 --> 00:23:14,720 Speaker 1: So Kelly, they delivered this script and now they've made 391 00:23:14,760 --> 00:23:20,280 Speaker 1: the movie, and it's really interesting because the movie itself 392 00:23:20,359 --> 00:23:22,199 Speaker 1: operates on a lot of levels in a way that 393 00:23:22,280 --> 00:23:25,439 Speaker 1: maybe you wouldn't think a silly summer movie would like. 394 00:23:25,680 --> 00:23:28,359 Speaker 1: Barbie herself is kind of a complicated character. 395 00:23:29,280 --> 00:23:33,000 Speaker 7: Yeah, she really is, and you know, this movie kind 396 00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:37,240 Speaker 7: of portrays her as living in this perfect Barbie world 397 00:23:37,359 --> 00:23:40,520 Speaker 7: and there's snow insecurities for women. 398 00:23:41,080 --> 00:23:43,360 Speaker 6: It is the best day I've ever So was yesterday, 399 00:23:43,359 --> 00:23:45,679 Speaker 6: and so is tomorrow and every day from there forever. 400 00:23:46,000 --> 00:23:48,959 Speaker 7: And you know, it's not just Margot Robbie that plays Barbie. 401 00:23:49,000 --> 00:23:51,240 Speaker 7: The whole world is full of Barbie's there, and they're 402 00:23:51,280 --> 00:23:55,600 Speaker 7: all different races and types of people doing different types 403 00:23:55,640 --> 00:23:59,080 Speaker 7: of jobs. Issa Ray is a president Barbie. Douah lipas 404 00:23:59,080 --> 00:24:02,520 Speaker 7: a mermaid Barbie. They have all these different types of people. 405 00:24:02,640 --> 00:24:06,000 Speaker 7: But then she has this existential crisis. We don't really 406 00:24:06,080 --> 00:24:10,280 Speaker 7: know what causes it. But her feet get flat, you know, 407 00:24:10,480 --> 00:24:14,760 Speaker 7: unlike Barbie's classic perfectly arched feet, which are permanently in 408 00:24:14,800 --> 00:24:18,000 Speaker 7: that position. And she thinks about Dan, you think about ninety. 409 00:24:19,720 --> 00:24:22,359 Speaker 7: So she kind of goes into this journey into the 410 00:24:22,400 --> 00:24:23,080 Speaker 7: real world. 411 00:24:23,920 --> 00:24:28,040 Speaker 1: And Margot Robbie as Barbie also has to contend with 412 00:24:28,480 --> 00:24:33,200 Speaker 1: a Kendall who is really still frozen in the past 413 00:24:33,280 --> 00:24:34,040 Speaker 1: version of Ken. 414 00:24:34,640 --> 00:24:38,080 Speaker 7: Oh yeah, so Ken, who's played by Ryan Gosling, has 415 00:24:38,119 --> 00:24:43,399 Speaker 7: an interesting journey because in the classic real experience of Ken, 416 00:24:43,400 --> 00:24:45,960 Speaker 7: he was just meant to be an accessory to Barbie. 417 00:24:46,000 --> 00:24:48,960 Speaker 7: He doesn't have a story. There's a joke in the movie, 418 00:24:49,200 --> 00:24:51,760 Speaker 7: the CEO of Mattel, who's played by Will ferrells as 419 00:24:51,800 --> 00:24:55,080 Speaker 7: we never think about Ken. Ever, he kind of tags 420 00:24:55,119 --> 00:24:57,240 Speaker 7: along with her, and I think his story is a 421 00:24:57,240 --> 00:25:01,080 Speaker 7: bit of a mystery. But he body some of these 422 00:25:01,119 --> 00:25:05,840 Speaker 7: old cultural hang ups that have plagued Barbie. They're going 423 00:25:05,880 --> 00:25:08,640 Speaker 7: into a hospital and he asked to perform an app 424 00:25:08,640 --> 00:25:11,320 Speaker 7: in deck to me, just one because he's a man. 425 00:25:11,440 --> 00:25:13,840 Speaker 7: I won't let you do just one app and deck 426 00:25:13,840 --> 00:25:15,639 Speaker 7: to me. But I'm a man, but not a doctor. 427 00:25:15,680 --> 00:25:16,600 Speaker 3: Can I talk to a doctor? 428 00:25:16,800 --> 00:25:18,960 Speaker 7: You are talking to a doctor there he is doctor. 429 00:25:19,000 --> 00:25:21,240 Speaker 1: How many good security so Kelly. Obviously a lot of 430 00:25:21,280 --> 00:25:23,840 Speaker 1: attention to the movie, a lot of hype around the trailer, 431 00:25:23,920 --> 00:25:28,800 Speaker 1: anticipation of the movie coming, but also the merchandise is 432 00:25:29,119 --> 00:25:30,640 Speaker 1: just everywhere. 433 00:25:31,200 --> 00:25:35,679 Speaker 7: Yes, the marketing of the Barbie movie is on another level. 434 00:25:35,840 --> 00:25:39,040 Speaker 7: It's unbelievable. I don't even know how much would have 435 00:25:39,080 --> 00:25:41,879 Speaker 7: been spent on the overall marketing, probably as much as 436 00:25:41,920 --> 00:25:44,960 Speaker 7: one hundred million dollar budget of the actual movie. Not 437 00:25:45,080 --> 00:25:47,280 Speaker 7: all of that by Mattel, a lot of that by 438 00:25:47,320 --> 00:25:50,960 Speaker 7: Warner Brothers. I mean, Mattel has over one hundred merchandise 439 00:25:51,040 --> 00:25:56,120 Speaker 7: partners that are just doing Barbie branded things like Barbie sweatshirts, 440 00:25:56,200 --> 00:26:01,560 Speaker 7: Barbie dog hats, Barbie cocktail glasses, Barbie Ruggs. But also 441 00:26:01,720 --> 00:26:04,600 Speaker 7: just so much stunt marketing that's been a part of this. 442 00:26:04,720 --> 00:26:08,120 Speaker 7: I mean they have this Airbnb Barbie Dreamhouse, so many 443 00:26:08,160 --> 00:26:11,080 Speaker 7: Barbie events, and they've got a real World of Barbie 444 00:26:11,119 --> 00:26:14,359 Speaker 7: exhibit in LA and you can go take your picture 445 00:26:14,359 --> 00:26:17,920 Speaker 7: in a plastic Barbie case. So when we're talking about 446 00:26:17,960 --> 00:26:21,000 Speaker 7: Mattel needs to create cultural moments, I would say the 447 00:26:21,080 --> 00:26:24,720 Speaker 7: marketing of it is almost as important as the movie itself. 448 00:26:25,240 --> 00:26:28,480 Speaker 1: And what's really interesting, as you described this, is that 449 00:26:28,800 --> 00:26:31,400 Speaker 1: it's trying to bring in adults into this world because 450 00:26:31,440 --> 00:26:33,520 Speaker 1: a lot of that stuff is not for kids. 451 00:26:34,440 --> 00:26:36,880 Speaker 7: Yeah, most of the things that I've seen in terms 452 00:26:36,880 --> 00:26:40,400 Speaker 7: of the marketing aren't for kids. Very few things are 453 00:26:40,400 --> 00:26:43,879 Speaker 7: for kids. There are actual dolls that are based on 454 00:26:44,160 --> 00:26:47,160 Speaker 7: the Barbie characters, like there's a Margo Robbie Barbie doll, 455 00:26:47,280 --> 00:26:50,560 Speaker 7: so that would be for their traditional three to eight demo, 456 00:26:51,119 --> 00:26:54,840 Speaker 7: But so much of this is for adults, appealing to 457 00:26:55,240 --> 00:26:59,199 Speaker 7: that older group that is still associating Barbie with the 458 00:26:59,440 --> 00:27:04,399 Speaker 7: old image. So this movie is a big opportunity to 459 00:27:04,680 --> 00:27:07,520 Speaker 7: correct those perceptions, you know, from Mettel's point of view. 460 00:27:07,880 --> 00:27:12,000 Speaker 1: And I guess rehabilitate these adults view of Barbie to 461 00:27:12,080 --> 00:27:14,880 Speaker 1: kind of make Barbie safe for their own kids. 462 00:27:15,160 --> 00:27:20,680 Speaker 7: Yes. I mean, if you're a mother and you thought 463 00:27:20,680 --> 00:27:23,479 Speaker 7: about how bad Barbie made you feel, I'm not going 464 00:27:23,560 --> 00:27:26,879 Speaker 7: to make my daughter feel bad by giving her some 465 00:27:27,000 --> 00:27:31,639 Speaker 7: perfect body that she will never attain and just making 466 00:27:31,640 --> 00:27:34,760 Speaker 7: her look at it. So that's what they're trying to 467 00:27:34,840 --> 00:27:37,320 Speaker 7: do is to show no, no, that's not what Barbie 468 00:27:37,359 --> 00:27:40,000 Speaker 7: is anymore. Barbie's going to make your daughter feel good, 469 00:27:40,400 --> 00:27:43,520 Speaker 7: and so they're trying to convince the mothers. So that's 470 00:27:43,520 --> 00:27:47,399 Speaker 7: who they have to rehabilitate the image for. But also 471 00:27:47,520 --> 00:27:50,560 Speaker 7: this is about creating new revenue streams for the company. 472 00:27:52,240 --> 00:27:56,280 Speaker 1: And that's a really important point because it's not just 473 00:27:56,400 --> 00:28:00,600 Speaker 1: this movie that Mattel is hoping we'll turn its around. 474 00:28:01,040 --> 00:28:04,800 Speaker 1: It's the beginning of a huge chain of other movies 475 00:28:04,840 --> 00:28:07,879 Speaker 1: that they hope can build on its success. 476 00:28:08,240 --> 00:28:11,720 Speaker 7: Yeah, they're hoping that this movie serves as the blueprint 477 00:28:11,880 --> 00:28:16,600 Speaker 7: for a bigger business model shift at the company. So 478 00:28:16,920 --> 00:28:19,639 Speaker 7: they feel like they're already very successful at just making 479 00:28:19,800 --> 00:28:23,600 Speaker 7: marketing toys. And if you think about what success for 480 00:28:24,440 --> 00:28:26,760 Speaker 7: one single Barbie movie could be, it would be to 481 00:28:26,760 --> 00:28:29,119 Speaker 7: turn it into a franchise. So then you get the 482 00:28:29,200 --> 00:28:32,840 Speaker 7: Ken spinoff movie, you get the Skipper TV show, you 483 00:28:32,880 --> 00:28:36,120 Speaker 7: get the Barbie theme park. They already have fourteen other 484 00:28:36,200 --> 00:28:41,440 Speaker 7: films on different Mettel brands that they have in the works, 485 00:28:41,680 --> 00:28:44,080 Speaker 7: and so they want to keep replicating. 486 00:28:44,120 --> 00:28:46,920 Speaker 1: Fourteen other movies just announced. 487 00:28:46,960 --> 00:28:50,280 Speaker 7: Yeah, but I mean dozens more that they're developing or 488 00:28:50,360 --> 00:28:52,040 Speaker 7: working to get announced. 489 00:28:52,240 --> 00:28:55,960 Speaker 1: That aren't about Barbie but are based on other Metel toys. 490 00:28:56,520 --> 00:28:59,640 Speaker 7: Yes, Bine large based on other Mettel toys. For the 491 00:28:59,680 --> 00:29:03,640 Speaker 7: most part, it's hot Wheels, it's Matchbox cars, it's Barney 492 00:29:03,680 --> 00:29:08,240 Speaker 7: the Dinosaur, Polly Pocket, American Girl Dolls. They're going into 493 00:29:08,320 --> 00:29:11,200 Speaker 7: the toy chest to try to create new franchises. 494 00:29:11,880 --> 00:29:15,360 Speaker 1: How much money does Mattel hope to make off of 495 00:29:15,400 --> 00:29:16,800 Speaker 1: this Barbie Juggernaut. 496 00:29:17,240 --> 00:29:21,320 Speaker 7: Mattel didn't put any money into the production or only 497 00:29:21,320 --> 00:29:23,600 Speaker 7: maybe a phenomenal amount into the production of the film, 498 00:29:23,600 --> 00:29:25,560 Speaker 7: so they don't get box office returns, they don't get 499 00:29:25,600 --> 00:29:28,640 Speaker 7: ticket sales. All of their money that they make is 500 00:29:28,720 --> 00:29:32,040 Speaker 7: going to be in increasing the value of the company, 501 00:29:32,160 --> 00:29:35,400 Speaker 7: increasing sales overall. It's hard to put a number on 502 00:29:35,440 --> 00:29:38,280 Speaker 7: that because I think they would probably see it as limitless. 503 00:29:38,880 --> 00:29:43,320 Speaker 7: The very highest early estimate I've seen for the domestic 504 00:29:43,400 --> 00:29:45,920 Speaker 7: opening weekend, the three day opening weekend in the US 505 00:29:45,920 --> 00:29:48,920 Speaker 7: and Canada is eighty million dollars. That would make it 506 00:29:48,920 --> 00:29:51,400 Speaker 7: one of the biggest movies of the year, better than 507 00:29:51,520 --> 00:29:55,600 Speaker 7: The Flash, better than Indiana Jones. It would be huge. 508 00:29:55,600 --> 00:29:58,840 Speaker 7: It's supposed to beat Oppenheimer, which is a movie that 509 00:29:58,880 --> 00:30:01,440 Speaker 7: comes up the exact same day, and I would say 510 00:30:01,440 --> 00:30:03,960 Speaker 7: overall it'll be in the hundreds of millions worldwide. 511 00:30:04,600 --> 00:30:06,920 Speaker 1: So at the beginning of our conversation, we're talking about 512 00:30:06,960 --> 00:30:08,840 Speaker 1: how this is really big bet. Do you think that 513 00:30:09,160 --> 00:30:10,600 Speaker 1: it pays off for Mattel? 514 00:30:11,200 --> 00:30:14,880 Speaker 7: I think based on what I've seen, yes, it probably 515 00:30:14,960 --> 00:30:17,960 Speaker 7: will pay off. They do seem to have hit the 516 00:30:18,040 --> 00:30:21,480 Speaker 7: right notes with everything going viral and there being this 517 00:30:21,560 --> 00:30:25,040 Speaker 7: big Barbie craze. That is what they wanted. You know, 518 00:30:25,120 --> 00:30:27,640 Speaker 7: Even if toy sales stay flat this year, I'd say 519 00:30:27,640 --> 00:30:30,800 Speaker 7: in the coming years they could go up just based 520 00:30:30,800 --> 00:30:34,320 Speaker 7: on building off the momentum of this. And even if 521 00:30:34,400 --> 00:30:37,440 Speaker 7: nobody sees the movie, they've already gotten all that attention. 522 00:30:38,400 --> 00:30:39,719 Speaker 1: Kelly, Are you going to see the movie? 523 00:30:40,400 --> 00:30:42,880 Speaker 7: Of course, I'm going to see the movie. I can't wait. 524 00:30:43,560 --> 00:30:45,000 Speaker 1: Thanks so much for coming on the show. 525 00:30:45,480 --> 00:30:48,920 Speaker 7: Thank you for having me, Thanks. 526 00:30:48,640 --> 00:30:50,720 Speaker 1: For listening to us here at The Big Take. It's 527 00:30:50,720 --> 00:30:54,440 Speaker 1: a daily podcast from Bloomberg and iHeartRadio. For more shows 528 00:30:54,440 --> 00:30:58,640 Speaker 1: from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever 529 00:30:58,680 --> 00:31:01,280 Speaker 1: you listen, and we'd love to hear from you. Email 530 00:31:01,360 --> 00:31:04,760 Speaker 1: us questions or comments to Big Take at Bloomberg dot net. 531 00:31:05,280 --> 00:31:08,360 Speaker 1: The supervising producer of The Big Take is Vicky Virgolina. 532 00:31:08,720 --> 00:31:12,080 Speaker 1: Our senior producer is Catherine Fink. Our producers are Moe 533 00:31:12,200 --> 00:31:16,400 Speaker 1: Barrow and Michael Falero. Raphael i'm celia is our engineer. 534 00:31:16,680 --> 00:31:21,200 Speaker 1: Our original music was composed by Leo Sidrin and special 535 00:31:21,200 --> 00:31:24,040 Speaker 1: thanks to our colleagues at the Bloomberg Original series The 536 00:31:24,200 --> 00:31:27,720 Speaker 1: Circuit with Emily Chang and by the way, definitely check 537 00:31:27,760 --> 00:31:30,720 Speaker 1: out the show. Emily gets behind the scenes with founders, 538 00:31:30,960 --> 00:31:35,719 Speaker 1: influencers and innovators. I'm west Kesova. We'll be back on 539 00:31:35,800 --> 00:31:38,800 Speaker 1: Monday with another big take. Have a great weekend.