Barbie Becomes Paid Social Media Influencer
Barbie Becomes Paid Social Media Influencer
WWD
Maghan McDowell
Earlier this month, Barbie was paid — literally — to attend a beauty conference at Mane University in Hawaii on behalf of Dyson’s Supersonic hairdryer. As such, she “produced” sponsored content at the event. Mattel declined to reveal how much Barbie received.
Among the images of her lounging on a pink inflatable flamingo and hiking to a waterfall in Hawaii, there is a video of Barbie “blowing out” her blonde hair with a caption: “Our sponsors @dysonhair and @ManeAddicts introduced me to the brand new #DysonSupersonic for the perfect blow out! Sleek and chic with the perfect pop of pink.” So far, the post has 181,000 views.
That is followed by a photo of Barbie at the event with a compact and a coffee that received 41,800 likes: “It’s the ‘mane’ event! About to get the ultimate styling treatment from @ManeUniversity, compliments of our sponsors @dysonhair and @ManeAddicts!”
The account, and Barbie’s first paid posts, are the result of a project that was two years in the making and something that started as a bit of a side project. It was “inspired by the world’s fascination with Barbie” and is currently run by a team of senior designers who create custom outfits, build sets to scale, scout locations, and work with an in-house marketing communications and digital team in addition to publicity firm KCD on the editorial calendar and partner relationships, according to Barbie vice president of marketing communications Kristina Duncan.
Read more: http://wwd.com/media-news/digital/barbie-paid-influencer-10518026/