Rhode’s iPhone Lip Case isn’t new (it launched in 2021), but it’s one of the clearest early signals of how beauty as a category has re-negotiated where it belongs. What once lived quietly behind a bathroom mirror has now stepped into the spotlight: with beauty products designed to be seen, carried, and displayed.

And yes, it’s absurd. Which is exactly why it works.

The Lip Case ultimately points to how beauty has evolved from a private, at-home ritual practiced in front of the mirror, into a public performance and deeply personal form of self-expression.

But what’s changing isn’t just product design; it’s the increasing social acceptability of beauty now being practiced in plain sight, and now brands are leaning in.

Rhode’s iPhone Lip Case: Practical Performance

The Lip Case is like an absurdist’s take on a beauty line extension.

Made from a soft, grippy silicone, the Lip Case’s claim to fame is the dedicated slot designed to cradle a single tube of Rhode’s viral Peptide Lip Tint. It also comes in vibrant colors which are precisely matched to the shade inside.

The Lip Case transmuted shoppers’ excitement for Rhode’s already-viral hero product into a collectible, meme-able, beauty accessory which invites shoppers to declare their brand allegiance to the world by keeping their beauty ritual at-hand, as essential as their phone.

It’s practical and performative at the same time — emblematic of shoppers’ growing desire to express personal style, taste, and preference through beauty in public.

⚠️ For beauty leaders: Rhode isn’t just selling a phone case; they’re selling a lifestyle accessory that doubles as a billboard. The phone case is seen > sparks discussion “Is that a lip gloss on your phone?” > drives discovery. Consider: What hero product in your portfolio is steering conversation? Which products are already “on display?”

Starface: When Acne is Actually Cute

If Rhode turns beauty something you carry, then Starface turns beauty into something you wear. A slightly different approach to beauty in public.

Instead of hiding acne, Starface’s hydrocolloid acne patches subvert the norm entirely, encouraging users to actually celebrate their blemishes by treating acne spots with colorful stickers cut into stars, and stored in smiley-face compacts to carry on the go.

And yes — people wear them, proudly, on their faces.

“It’s a subtle accessory — a little accent piece… and it’s super photogenic and cute,”

Julie Schott, Co-Founder & CEO, Starface (via Vogue)

Schott also told ELLE in 2024 that Starface exists to bring more positivity to shoppers’ self-image, stating that “[Millennials] grew up being told you have a ‘before and after,’ and until you get to the after, you’re ugly and flawed.”

Starface rejects this.

Instead, it re-introduces playfulness to skincare. In a saturated shopping aisle dominated by clinical packaging and “derm-approved” shorthand, Starface sits in stark contrast. It is deliberately loud with bright colors, whimsical shapes, and messaging that reframes acne care as self-expression.

The Big Yellow Personality

From Starface’s website:

hi bff :) i’m big yellow!

i’m a lil cube from outer space, sent down 2 earth 2 help ppl feel positively cute abt caring 4 their skin. that’s what starface is all abt: turning breakouts into moments of self-expression n fun with dermatologist-approved essentials that care 4 acne with kindness. here’s ur daily reminder that ur cute n ily <3

It reads like a text message from your Gen Z bestie. And that’s the point.

Form Meets Function

But that’s not to say Starface isn’t effective. Starface’s original Yellow Hydro-Stars use a proven, 100% hydrocolloid formula, which has been commonly used in the industry to absorb fluid and deter picking. Meanwhile, other variations layer in familiar acne care ingredients without compromising on the aesthetic:

• Blue Hydro-Stars - 1% salicylic acid to treat more active breakouts

• Green Hydro-Stars - tea tree oil to calm redness

• Purple Hydro-Stars - aloe vera and licorice extract for post-blemish recovery

• Pink Hydro-Stars - same as Yellow ones, just… pink (because cute)

All of these proven, functional skincare ingredients operate quietly in the background, keeping Hydro-Stars readily: wearable, expressive, and (most of all) public.

⚠️ For beauty leaders: Starface inverted the skincare playbook by asking “What if acne wasn’t something to hide?” Their success is a clear signal of how self-expression, levity, and joy are valid positioning in a category that is usually defined by just results. Where else might a “results and” positioning unlock a new audience?

Under-Eye Masks: Beauty in Plain Sight

Rhode and Starface are clear examples of beauty products designed for public use, but under-eye masks tell a different story. They weren’t conceived as public-facing statement pieces. Instead, they’re becoming more and more acceptable in public through increasing social permission.

Under-eye masks have quietly snuck into transitional spaces — airport lounges, subway platforms, and waiting rooms — defined by their wait-times, relative anonymity (I’ll never see these people again), and overall low social stakes. These in-between spaces are where social rules have loosened, because although you’re visible, you’re largely unaccountable; making it the perfect place for a midday touch-up, with little to lose and a refresh to gain.

Most of all, it’s the format that does the work. Under-eye masks are compact, non-messy, and over in less than 15 minutes. Unlike full-face masks or liquid treatments, they don’t disrupt the space or people around you. The barrier to “skincare in public” is lower when the ritual is quick, contained, and quiet.

Just Dieux It!

Cult-favorite brands like Dieux have already optimized their format to go beyond the bathroom mirror, and it’s their claim to fame: stylish, reusable under-eye patches to take on-the-go.

• Reusable format — Sustainable, but also: an ongoing relationship with the product (you don’t throw it away after one use)

• Dedicated carrying case — Signals portability by design; it’s meant to leave the house

• Loud, stylish designs — Angel wings, bright blue, prominent Dieux logo mark; these are designed to be seen, not hidden

Dieux under-eye patches have now become something of a status symbol. A subtle flex that says “I take care of my skin, and I’m not embarrassed about it.” They’ve managed to turn a private, 15-minute hydration ritual into an identity marker.

⚠️ For beauty leaders: Under-eye masks didn’t start public, but consumer behavior is pulling them there. Dieux leaned in by designing for visibility rather than discretion. What products in your portfolio are already being used “in public” by early adopters? How might you design toward that behavior vs against it?

The New Rules of Public Beauty

Beauty in public is a cultural shift making self-care socially acceptable, and making it so that the your bathroom beauty ritual isn’t your only beauty moment of the day. If you’re building in beauty CPG, this shift is demanding answers to new design questions:

1. Portability as a feature — Not just “travel-friendly” but designed to be seen in transit. How does your product become a part of the shoppers’ identity, and not something just stuffed into their bag?

2. Visibility as positioning — Products that once prioritized discretion are now designed to be on display. What are the categories still ripe for disruption, still awaiting their own beauty in public moment?

3. Transitional spaces as touch-points — Airports, commutes, waiting rooms. These in-between moments are now legitimate beauty occasions. If your brand is optimized for the 10-minute ritual, then it may find new usage occasions hiding in plain sight. How does your product messaging change to reflect this?

4. Self-expression AND results — Every beauty brand wants to be effective, and that still matters. But what else? Efficacy is table-stakes, and shoppers are demanding more. Self-expression is one reframe that may unlock an entirely new audience. What message does your brand send aside from “our stuff works?”

Shoppers used to ask “Will this product make me look better?” But now they’re asking “What does this product say about me?” — and your brand’s answer to that question may now be more important than the product itself.

• Tried Katz’ Deli pastrami sandwich - incredible

• Saw The Great Gatsby on Broadway

• Caught Date Night at The MET (didn’t make it onto the Rooftop Garden) 😭

• Managed to get a workout in 💪

Beauty New York really ought to be in LA, anyway! As for this week on Beauty Active, I’ve been thinking about the intersections of AI within beauty, and was interested to read about some of the latest insights on AI in beauty search. Hope you enjoy!

AI Search is Reshaping Product Discovery

According to a recent trend report from Spate titled AI Search in Beauty, ChatGPT comprises roughly 7% of all web-based searches per day.

This is based on data from NP Digital which cites that in 2025, ChatGPT has processed roughly one billion searches per day, compared to Google Search which continues to dominate the channel, processing roughly 14B searches daily.

While that 7% may sound small, it represents a significant shift in terms of user behavior, particularly in the role that AI models like ChatGPT play in discovery:

• Search gains context - Moving away from keywords and search terms, shoppers are asking full, nuanced questions about specific scenarios

• AI models acting as advisors - Beyond just a search engine, shoppers are likely to rely on AI models for real decision-making: Using outputs as advice vs just information

• Shrinking surface area for results - Rather than users self-serving from a list of 10+ search results, the tighter AI search funnel surfaces only one or two suggestions, making overall discoverability harder moving forward as AI “re-bundles” traditional search into synthesized, narrative-style outputs
  

Beauty Under-Indexing in AI Search Signals New Opportunity

Of these 1 billion searches, Spate reports that product categories like Beauty, Wellness, and Personal Care are under-indexed in terms of their share of searches, with ChatGPT accounting for only 4.3% of search for beauty-related topics.

This low search-share can be a signal of low competition within beauty: putting those brands that are optimizing for AI-powered search ahead of the curve, with the opportunity to set the standard. However, visibility here isn’t just about showing up. It’s showing up the way that users are searching: with conversational context.

Breaking Habits: The AI Search Shift

Recent data from SEMRush shows a second shift currently underway: users are still carrying their old search habits when engaging with AI search tools, but this will quickly change.

The data shows that when utilizing SearchGPT (which is ChatGPT’s chat-based web-search), users actually tend to use fewer words than when this option is turned off.

What does this mean?

• Word count when SearchGPT is turned on = 4 words

• Word count when SearchGPT is turned off = 23 words

From my perspective, this is indicative of learned search behavior. Users are cutting their word counts when searching because this is how they currently understand search to work best — you can thank Google for that — a concise set of keywords to pinpoint specific results.

However, SearchGPT is fully capable of more expansive, nuanced search queries with conversational structure and contexts, and this is how they already use it when not toggling the search function.

I believe users want to search conversationally and will gradually learn to stop self-moderating their queries as AI-search becomes commonplace. Google’s latest AI Mode chat tool is actively inviting us to begin searching this way, along with competitors like Reddit Answers. This is a shift worth watching.

Brands that learn to mirror this emerging search style and provide content that matches it will be in the best position to ultimately be included in final AI outputs.

Optimizing Your Brand’s Content for AI Search

With AI search gradually changing the way shoppers discover products, the purchase funnel is compressing; reducing the time spent between awareness and conversion as AI search results present synthesized answers with only one or two recommendations, and shoppers readily accepting them as sage advice.

That answer could include your product, or your competitor’s.

That’s why it’s important to become familiar with a new term to address this challenge: Generative Engine Optimization (GEO). Effectively, GEO refers to the emerging set of strategies and tactics that may help your brand show up better within AI-generated search results, where results aren’t ranked, but recommended, and conversational AIs act more as advisors.

“GEO builds on traditional SEO but shifts the focus to align with how AI-enabled search platforms rank and showcase content… GEO is about ensuring your content is the answer GEs choose to generate.”

Adam Binder, Founder of Creative Click Media, written for Forbes

The term might be new, but the strategy isn’t. (Not really.) In my opinion, GEO is simply an evolution of today’s SEO best practices which every top marketer has already been advocating for long before the widespread availability of AI for product search. It boils down to content formats and the overall digital footprint your brand has within relevant topics. Content written and recorded for real people.

This is how I view the two biggest content shifts when it comes to optimizing content for AI search results:

1. Multi-Modal Content — Beyond long-form blogs focused on keywords, rich, multi-media content is critical (for GEO but also SEO generally.) Consider, what formats is your content available in for an AI platform to reference? Within traditional SEO, content imagery, audio, video, and text are the very basics, so I’ll focus on the newer formats more relevant to GEO:

   1. Text: How is your brand being discussed? - Beyond blog posts, news articles, or press releases, newer within AI synthesis is also how your brand is being discussed in secondary arenas like: product reviews, online forums, and social media feeds.

   2. Data Files: What in-depth information about your brand or products is available for deep questions? - With the advent of PhD-level research tools now available at your fingertips with ChatGPT, data files such as PDFs, PowerPoint slides, and spreadsheets are all fair game — So how are you showing up?

      1. Deep Research queries will only become more common especially as tools like ChatGPT Pulse are now enabling background tasks to do things like shopping and information-finding overnight.

      2. As such, you should consider anything structured and labeled as potentially useful for this purpose, whether it’s ingredient lists, pitch decks, influencer guidebooks, or product whitepapers, this more in-depth media is the perfect material to answer deep questions that users may be tasking their personal AI agents to uncover.
         

2. Conversational Content — I’ve always hated listicles and other canned copywriting formats because of how inauthentic they feel. Fortunately, with AI search synthesis, the focus is now shifting to content that answers questions in a way that addresses how real people ask questions. I think that means original, more authentic material will start to win out over gamified, keyword-stuffed content because of how it’s written or otherwise presented.

   1. Example: Top results won’t be canned articles optimized for “best toners for oily skin,” but rather deep-linked, personal musings from bloggers, commenters, and reviewers coming together to answer “What’s a good toner for oily skin that won’t dry me out in winter?”

   2. Your content should be more nuanced, tapping into the real needs of actual shoppers, as opposed to catering to blackbox algorithms. Additionally, this content needs to become ubiquitous in an environment of generative AI synthesizing sources; where your brand or products are positioned as the solution in not one lone post on your owned channels, but across the unowned social landscape as well.

The New Playbook for Discovery

Beauty may be under-indexed in AI-search today, but that won’t last. As platforms like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Mode evolve, beauty’s presence in search will expand. What we’re seeing today is just the start.

If your brand already has strong foundations with SEO, then you’re not starting from scratch. But in a generative-first world, I think the key areas to focus your efforts are:

• Writing the way people speak, with full questions and scenarios; never keyword stuffing

• Structuring content for AI synthesis; easy to cite, quote, or recombine for multiple formats and platforms

• Showing up across different kinds of media; beyond short-form vertical video, and experimenting with structured docs and spreadsheets + especially having a presence in forums and comment sections

As AI re-bundles discovery, the brands that are surfaced won’t just be GE-optimized, but will be contextually understood. Those are the brands providing answers, and not just keyword results.

This week I’m focused on fragrance. Social platforms like TikTok have cracked open the category, fueling discovery for Gen Z and Gen Alpha shoppers, especially. What’s emerging now is a new set of shopper expectations: that fragrances must be more functional, more versatile, and more cost-effective than ever before.

Fragrance Shoppers are Demanding More from their Scents

In 2025, Statista estimates that the US Fragrance market will grow to over $9 billion in revenue as the category continues to accelerate. TikTok remains the primary growth catalyst fueling discovery among Gen Z and Gen Alpha shoppers who are seeking new, more functional scents with benefits.

This shift towards “functional fragrances” is made clear in research from Mintel, which indicates that fragrance shoppers are increasingly looking for scents that offer additional enhancements like: mood-boosting benefits and personalization.

Fragrance Goes Functional: Scents for Mood, Personalization, & Wellness

Major Mass and Premium Beauty players are already responding to the trend, launching their own fragrance lines claiming added functionality:

Mood-Boosting Scents: Emotion as a Feature

• Charlotte Tilbury’s Collection of Emotions — Arguably one of the trend-setters in this space, Charlotte Tilbury unveiled the Collection of Emotions in May 2024 which included six premium, functional scents that claim to leverage “emotion-boosting molecules” to influence emotional response.

  • The range is pretty wide, with the tagline “Spray me for…” anything from love, seduction, happiness, energy, and empowerment.

  • Currently priced around $150 for a 3.4 fl oz. EDP, and officially launched on Amazon earlier this month.

    

• adidas Vibes — Launched the same year in June 2024 (and refreshed this past summer with five new body mists) adidas released six mood-boosting, multi-functional scents, geared towards Gen Z shoppers that are “designed to make you feel positive.”

  • These are lower-priced for the Mass channel compared to the premium offerings of Charlotte Tilbury, currently priced around $35 for a 3.4 fl oz. EDP, and $18 for a body mist.

  • Scent names like “Get Comfy,” “Happy Feels,” and “Energy Drive” evoke the feeling each scent has been formulated to give you, and encompass a variety of feelings that a shopper might want to enhance throughout the day: from winding up to winding down.

Both of these collections feature occasion-based scenting formats, with scent names that suggest how each one can be leveraged or layered. This format ties in neatly with the fragrance shopper’s growing desire for building “capsule wardrobes” of fragrance. Specifically: small, tightly curated collections of scents chosen for their versatility and relevance in a variety of scenarios.

With full line-ups in Mass and Premium Beauty specifying these particular occasions or emotions, brands are trying to coax shoppers into buying more than just one fragrance to ultimately capture more of that space on shoppers’ shelves.

Personalized Scents: Your Skin, But Better

• Glossier You Fleur - Glossier’s You fragrance collection was originally launched in 2017, but recently added a new, floral scent to the lineup this past spring. The main selling point? It smells like you. Glossier You is a lineup of musk-based fragrances designed to interact with your natural skin chemistry, resulting in a scent that is uniquely yours.

  • Musk-based “personal” scents are nothing new: classics like Kiehl’s Original Musk have been around for decades, but there seems to be a burgeoning trend for more “natural” or “pheromone-like scents” that rely more heavily on musk vs sweeter notes.

  • Glossier’s introduction of Fleur is a modern take on “personalized” musk that adds floral notes for a sweeter touch. I view this launch as a middle-ground for modern fragrance shoppers who are interested in something sweet but not too sweet.

  • The positioning of this EDP is focused entirely on skin chemistry personalization, with the bottle itself featuring a real thumbprint impression pressed into the glass.

Wellness Scents: Fragrance = Therapy

Beyond just “mood-boosting,” ancillary wellness benefits like: promoting higher energy, reducing overall stress, and enhancing sleep are also popular enhancements that fragrance brands are gearing toward.

One popular “holistic wellbeing” brand, NEOM Wellbeing, is tackling this space with multi-functional home and personal fragrance products that claim to address broader wellness concerns like: sleep, stress, mood, and energy. They organize their assortment by concern:

NEOM Wellbeing states their home and personal fragrance lines, developed using essential oils, are focused on ”[providing] wellbeing moments for all through 100% natural fragrances.”

Although NEOM primarily operates in the United Kingdom, they have recently expanded to over 300 Ulta Beauty stores here in the US, as they gear up to open the US market to more “natural” and “wellness” positioned fragrances.

“Fragrance as Self-Care” - Beyond the Glass Bottle

Although these aren’t fragrances, these are related signals that indicate how other personal care categories are being influenced by the broader trend toward multi-functionality in self-care products:

• Touchland Acquisition — CPG titan Church & Dwight acquired Touchland back in May 2025 for over $700 million after the brand saw meteoric growth amid the COVID pandemic; rocketing to the position of #2 best-selling hand sanitizer in the US as of 2024 according to Circana.

  • Ultimately, Touchland’s approach to a sluggish category like hand sanitizer (pre-COVID) was predicated on a single question: “What if hand sanitizer smelled good? / was cute? / wasn’t terrible?”

  • Their playful array of scents like “Rosewater,” “Frosted Mint,” and “Citrus Grove” (which is my personal favorite) also include hand moisturizing benefits — a multi-functional combo that improves upon the otherwise “hospital-like” experience of virtually every other sanitizer.

• Dove Mood-Boosting Body Wash — Dove body washes have also gotten the mood-boosting treatment, with a new set of floral-scented washes utilizing ingredients like: lavender, chamomile, and rose to deliver new positioning surrounding each fragrance’s mood-elevating benefits as part of self-care.

  

Amid Inflation, Shoppers are Strategically Spending on their Favorite Scents

Versatility and cost effectiveness are becoming increasingly important within the beauty category amid tariffs and inflation. With limited dollars, shoppers are rethinking how they spend of nice-to-have categories like fragrance.

Rather than buying multiple single-purpose products, they are looking for ways to stretch their dollars without sacrificing experience. For fragrance, that means seeking out multi-use, layered, or alternative formats to more expensive EDPs.

One example: Instead of going for an unscented lotion and separate luxury perfume, shoppers may now be more likely to reacher a scented body lotion that is infused with their favorite fragrance — a two-in-one that feels indulgent but still practical. Meanwhile other shoppers might be trading down from expensive EDPs to lower cost body mists.

Popular scents from Victoria’s Secret illustrate this perfectly:

• Bare Sueded Vanilla, Eau du Parfum 1.7fl oz. = $60

• Bare Sueded Vanilla, Fragrance Lotion, 8.4 fl oz. = $25

• Bare Sueded Vanilla, Fragrance Body Mist, 8.4 fl oz. = $25

Instead of spending $60 on just one EDP, shoppers can spend $50 and get both the fragrance lotion and body mist in the same Bare Sueded Vanilla scent; layering both to recreate the EDP experience while also gaining 16 ounces of product, $10 savings, not to mention the added moisturizing benefits of the lotion!

What’s more is that, according to research from Mintel, roughly 47% of body mist users believe they work as well as stronger EDPs and colognes. (via BeautyMatter) This perception, combined with tighter budgets, means a shopper might look at this mist-and-lotion pairing as a smarter, more versatile buy that satisfies both their sensory wants and economic needs.

The New Language of Functional Fragrance

Fragrance is quickly shifting from style accessory to lifestyle tool. From mood-boosting and wellness claims, to scented hybrids and body care extensions, the category is expanding beyond just indulgence and now into utility.

For beauty leaders, this shift demands a new kind of positioning: Functional fragrance isn’t just a claim but a mindset which blends both emotion and efficacy. Whether it’s through new formats, cross-category innovation, or value-driven basket building, shoppers are signaling that scent must now do more. A key question for brands to answer is not just “What does it smell like?” but now “What does it do for me?”

Active Signals

Other interesting updates from across the beauty landscape

• Honeydew is a dermatology telehealth startup helping you access skincare solutions. Have you tried getting a derm appointment lately? Good luck!

  • Honeydew offers a digital subscription service that gives customers instant access to a dermatologist for care, including Rx-grade products and medications. Honeydew’s co-founder, David Futoran started it alongside his own dermatologist, Dr. Joel Spitz.

    

All opinions are my own and do not reflect the views of my employer.
__

Stepping off of the shelf and onto the silver screen, Mattel’s highly anticipated Barbie movie is more than just the biggest blockbuster of 2023. It signals a strategic shift: iconic brands like Mattel are reinventing themselves for the digital age, where media scalability is the key to unlocking new growth and capturing the hearts of new consumers.

Now, these CPG giants are transforming into dynamic media companies, blending the charm of their beloved brands with the power of AI, animation, and the budding metaverse. They are reinvigorating their brand equity and positioning themselves to reach today’s tech-native consumers – a crucial move in an era where digital experiences are not just delightful, but expected.

Yet, this transformation isn’t without risks. As Mattel ventures further into media territory, a misstep could harm their core business and the reputation of their most prized intellectual property. Despite the fanfare Barbie is stirring, giants like Mattel are playing outside of their traditional sandbox, which may be a gamble that results in a significant loss, or a groundbreaking success.

In this article, we will explore this strategic shift for iconic brands like Mattel, and take a closer look at how this classic brand has evolved, its ventures into media and entertainment, and what the future holds for a world where brands and tech converge.

Manufacturers are Sitting on a Media Goldmine

Mattel isn’t new to media production. In fact, 2023’s live-action Barbie movie is actually well above their 40th installment in the wider Barbie-verse. Barbie in the Nutcracker, Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses, and Barbie Fairytopia: Mermaidia – all hit animated features that pad Mattel’s media development resume, albeit none live-action. (And I would be lying if I said I didn’t watch Mermaidia more than a handful of times with my younger sister when we were kids. I remember spending hours in the pool playing “Mermaids & Mer-man.”)

But Barbie (2023) is a special move on Mattel’s part. For all the experience they have already gained since their very first animated Barbie movie in 2001, Barbie (2023) is their first true blockbuster – with all the pomp and circumstance of a real Hollywood film. This leap from a long history of direct-to-DVD animated productions, and public access TV cartoons represents their high-stakes gamble on cinema. The implications of this go far beyond the fate of just the Barbie franchise, though; I think this move is emblematic of a broader, industry-wide shift for CPG manufacturers as a whole. Iconic manufacturers like Mattel are starting to realize that their intellectual property can be a launching pad for new growth in media production, and digital engagement.

Barbie on the Big Screen: A Case Study in Brand Reinvention

The live-action Barbie movie is a calculated move to re-assert Mattel’s relevance in a rapidly evolving digital world. They are poised to capture the attention of tech-native consumers; positioning Barbie as not just a physical toy, but a transmedia franchise, spanning not only toys and film, but also games, apps, and even metaverse experiences. Mattel has consistently iterated on the Barbie brand, to varying degrees of success.

In the early 2010s, Barbie toy sales were floundering, and reflected declining consumer sentiment towards the brand. After surveying US shoppers in 2014, Mattel confirmed that shoppers generally viewed Barbie as outdated, unrealistic, and out of touch; a symbol of negative beauty standards for young girls. This decline in sales plummeted until 2015, as recorded by Statista, spurring Mattel to take decisive action and reinvent the brand.

Barbie Fashionistas, via X @Mattel

In that same year, Mattel launched the “Barbie Fashionistas” line which was a diverse collection of dolls each proudly representing more inclusive skin tones, hairstyles, and eye colors. A year later, the company took things a step further by introducing additional body types, including “Curvy,” “Tall,” and “Petite” Barbies. Lastly, by 2018, Mattel also expanded their digital playset by launching the “Barbie: Dreamhouse Adventures” app for iOS and Google Play – which remains their most popular Barbie mobile game.

These product revamps and innovations were fundamental steps to realigning Barbie’s image with the more diverse, inclusive, and digitally immersive expectations of today’s shoppers. As a result, by 2021, Mattel’s Barbie brand made a significant recovery, reporting its highest sales in the past decade, according to Statista.

Film and content development have always been at the forefront of this reinvention – and not just for Barbie. Mattel saw decent success with other intellectual property in media, like Monster High and Hot Wheels. However, the real game-changer wasn’t until 2018, when current CEO Ynon Kreiz took over and announced his vision to transform Mattel into a content and media production powerhouse rivaling Hasbro.

“We try to make movies that people want to watch…”

Ynon Kreiz, CEO of Mattel

In September 2018, what was previously Mattel’s Playground Productions film studio, was reformed into Mattel Films – one of the studios spearheading this year’s live-action Barbie movie. This was an early goal that Kreiz set as part of his long-term plan to transform Mattel. But Mattel’s goal with film isn’t just to sell more toys – something they have already managed to do – instead, as Kreiz told Variety on the “Strictly Business” podcast, “We don’t make movies to sell more toys. We try to make movies that people want to watch and television content that will be engaging and entertaining.” And this is clearly the essence of Barbie’s Hollywood debut.

Barbie Syndrome: More than Just a Doll, it’s a Lifestyle

For manufacturers like Mattel, success is no longer just about selling dolls anymore; it’s about captivating consumers with immersive experiences, lifestyle content, and digital experiments. Mattel’s viral marketing is focused on inviting shoppers into Barbie’s world through activations that leverage today’s technology and trends. As CEO Ynon Kreiz put it, above all else, it’s about creating an experience that is engaging and entertaining.

This has certainly been the ethos behind Barbie’s movie marketing, reflected in the unique and even unpredictable promotional tactics they’ve turned to for the movie. One standout tactic is Barbie’s AI-powered selfie-generator which has taken over Twitter. As part of the viral campaign to promote the movie, users were invited to upload a headshot to the Barbie Selfie Generator website (http://barbieselfie.ai) and which is then automatically cropped and edited to look like one of the film’s promotional headshots. Almost like you’re a Barbie, too! Now everyone can become a part of Barbie’s world. Here’s me:

Generated using barbieselfie.ai

And if “Barbie x AI” wasn’t on your bingo card for this movie’s promo, then you won’t guess what else the marketing team has up their sleeve. Mattel didn’t stop at promoting the film online – no, they transformed a real-life Malibu beach house into Barbie’s iconic Dreamhouse, which you can now rent on Airbnb. Now fans can experience the Barbie lifestyle for themselves. This Airbnb listing will remain live for at least a year, and is central to a long-term commercialization strategy that’s promoting more than just the Barbie movie; it’s promoting Barbie lifestyle.

Malibu Barbie Dreamhouse, via Airbnb

Lastly, and perhaps my favorite activation so far, has been Barbie The Album. More than just a film score, Barbie The Album is a pop masterpiece featuring musical heavyweights like Dua Lipa, Nicki Minaj, and Charli XCX. Not only has Mattel curated a canonical sound for Barbie, but they’ve also ensured long-term commercial relevance for Barbie IP with original earworms like “Speed Drive” (my personal favorite from the album, and now a fixture in my own personal hyperpop playlist for posterity.)

While each of these activations are a success in their own right, providing Mattel with valuable insight into things like: how to use AI to promote a launch, how to leverage real-life experiential marketing, and how to produce an original music album – none of these will guarantee a successful film. As innovative and exciting as these tactics may be, the world of Hollywood entertainment is fast-moving and new to Mattel, and a flop can mean broader implications for their core business. As we celebrate their audacious marketing efforts, let’s consider what might be at risk for Mattel.

Mattel is Risking More than Just a Box Office Flop

Unlike traditional media companies, Mattel has more than just a red carpet and film critics to worry about. If Barbie (2023) fails to deliver, Mattel stands to lose more than just their production and marketing investment (which, at this rate, might actually be quite big.) Rather, Mattel is also risking damage to their overall Barbie brand.

Barbie has been pivotal to Mattel’s bottom line since 1959, and to this day remains an integral part of their overall revenue. According to Statista, in 2022, Barbie sales comprised nearly 28% total revenue for Mattel, even as overall revenue softened slightly vs 2021.

Mattel revenue breakdown, Barbie vs Other, via Statista

If audiences reject Barbie on the big screen it could result in a bad look for the brand overall, triggering a knock-on effect for Barbie merchandise and other brand extensions that Mattel can’t afford to take lightly. After all, Mattel only just turned around a significant sales decline in 2021. Losing this bet on the Barbie movie could put them back at square one – only now with a lot unsold movie merchandise.

What’s more is that Mattel is releasing this film in the midst of a major upset in Hollywood. Union writers and actors have been protesting the Hollywood machine for nearly six months now, demanding that studio executives sit down to negotiate and secure livable wages, healthcare benefits, and assurances against being replaced by artificial intelligence.

As tensions escalate, films like Barbie (2023) may be caught in the crossfire, with shoppers and entertainment professionals alike potentially boycotting the theater this summer in solidarity with writers and actors in protest. While it would be unfortunate to see Mattel’s media playbook become collateral damage here, it may just be necessary to ensure the rights of entertainment workers.

Not only that, but Barbie’s premiere will be going head-to-head against some serious competition, as Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer is opening the same day. Despite the enthusiasm on social media about a “Barbenheimmer” double-feature, the two films are, at the end of the day, still competing for the title of this year’s biggest summer blockbuster.

While the Barbie film project encapsulates Mattel’s innovative and audacious approach to reinventing their brand, it also reflects the inherent risks involved. The Hollywood media machine may require a level of agility and rapid innovation that Mattel may not be ready for. After all, their experience to date has been in the slower, product-focused environment of traditional toy manufacturing. Whether or not Mattel will be able to keep up with the changing tastes of their newfound audience, and adapt to the shifting technology of AI-powered media, remains to be seen.

Staying Relevant in the Digital Era

Mattel’s transformation from a traditional toymaker into a dynamic media powerhouse is an incredible case study unfolding in real-time. While this journey won’t be without challenges, it reflects an enticing promise of unparalleled growth and brand expansion for other CPG manufacturers that are also stepping into their digital era.

Whether Barbie sinks or swims at the box office, one thing is certain: Mattel’s bold new strategy underscores the changing landscape of the toy industry – and CPG overall. As the line between physical and digital experiences continues to blur, it will be important to see how legacy brands like Barbie continue to reinvent themselves to stay relevant.

With all eyes on Mattel and Barbie, we’re left wondering: Will Barbie (2023) be a box office hit, leading the way for other manufacturers to step off of the shelf and onto the big screen? Or will it serve as a cautionary tale of what happens to brands that venture too far from their traditional sandbox? Time will tell, but regardless of the outcome, it’s clear that Mattel’s reinvention story is far from over.

🏳️‍🌈 SUPPORT THE GAY PRO

Podcast : Apple | Google | Spotify

Follow : Tw…

Read more

Third Places are about community, and I think they are especially important to queer people, who may not have another place to go when seeking persona…

Read more

🏳️‍🌈 SUPPORT THE GAY PRO

Podcast : Apple | Google | Spotify

Follow : Twitter | Instagram | Yo…

Read more

🏳️‍🌈 Support The Gay Pro

Podcast : Apple | Google | Spotify

Follow : Twitter | Instagram | YouTube

🎙 New Podcast …

Read more