We’re all in the midsts of Barbie mania with reports the film took $US155 million ($A230 million) in ticket sales on its opening weekend in the US and Canada alone.
The marketing push for the Margot Robbie-led flick has been in overdrive for some time with reports Warner Bros has spent a staggering $US150 million ($A220 million) promoting the launch of the movie that only cost $US145 million ($A214 million) to make.
One of the better marketing stunts came out of Dubai and was set against the world’s tallest building, the 830-metre high Burj Khalifa.
The stunt, which quickly went viral, saw a gigantic 3D, virtual model of Barbie wearing her iconic white-framed sunglasses and black and white striped swimsuit burst out of her box in what appeared to be a stunning digital out of home activation. Watch it below:
if I saw this in real life it would create a panic attack https://t.co/hvvi9GWTyX
— Jason (parody) (@FerranteJason) July 25, 2023
However, the stunt appeared to instal terror in people rather than a rush to buy Barbie tickets.
“If I saw this in real life I think I’d go into cardiac arrest,” one person Tweeted.
Another said: “This would scare the living crap out of me if I saw it without knowing what was going to happen…”
A third commented that they surely “would have pissed my pants if I saw this”. “Have we learned nothing from the freakishly realistic Japanese billboards and that doll from Squid Game,” they added.
“This fucking ad actually looks terrifying I would’ve cried,” said another.
Alas, the whole thing was quickly outed as a very clever piece of CGI and video editing skulduggery.
The agency behind it, UAE-based Eye Studio, admitted they were behind the footage, revealing it took three days to make.
Speaking to news site The National, Eye Studio’s creative director, Juhi Rupani, said: “As a social media agency, we’re always thinking about what’s trending, and everyone is currently talking about Barbie.
“So we thought of doing something around an iconic product and putting her next to the most iconic landmark in Dubai.
“The first thing that crossed our mind while making it was we kind of wanted to pay homage to the beginning and stay close to how the very first Barbie doll ever created looked back in 1959.
“When it came to location, after going back and forth we decided nothing beats the Burj Khalifa,” Rupani said.
