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Barbie, Memes, and the Smartest Poster Campaign in Years

Playful, timely, and taps into both nostalgia and marketing insight.

Author

Javier García
July 06, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 6 minutes

In partnership with

Introduction

Welcome to another exciting week!

Table of Contents

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The Marketing Millennials is a look inside what’s working right now for other marketers. No theory. No fluff. Just real insights and ideas you can actually use—from marketers who’ve been there, done that, and are sharing the playbook.

Every newsletter is written by Daniel Murray, a marketer obsessed with what goes into great marketing. Expect fresh takes, hot topics, and the kind of stuff you’ll want to steal for your next campaign.

Because marketing shouldn’t feel like guesswork. And you shouldn’t have to dig for the good stuff.

Best Ad of the Week

Barbie – “This Barbie Is” (2023 Film Campaign)

To promote the 2023 Barbie film, Warner Bros. and Mattel launched a character poster campaign that let everyone become a Barbie—or a Ken. Using bold colours and a DIY poster generator, the internet exploded with personalised “This Barbie is…” memes, driving global hype weeks before the film’s release.

Key marketing lessons
• Turn your audience into the ad: The poster generator invited mass participation, blending user-generated content with official branding.
• Consistency with flexibility: A clear template and visual identity kept the campaign cohesive, even as fans customised it wildly.
• Play to internet culture: Self-aware humour, memeability, and inclusive representation made the campaign irresistible on social media.
• Bridge digital and physical: Posters, bus stops and trailers all matched the online energy—unifying the campaign across every touchpoint.

The Barbie poster blitz is a masterclass in building momentum through fun, identity, and shareability. It didn’t just promote the movie—it made the internet part of the cast.

Barbie – “This Barbie Is” (2023 Film Campaign)

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Weekly Tip

Tone Is a Strategy

Your tone shapes how people feel about your brand, sometimes more than the message itself.

• Decide what tone fits your brand—friendly, expert, bold, calm
• Keep it consistent across posts, replies, and emails
• Review old content to spot and fix tone mismatches

When tone aligns with your audience and message, trust builds faster. It’s not just how you say it—it’s how you make them feel.

Weekly Challenge

DM Welcome Flow

Turn new followers into active connections:

• Each day, send a short welcome DM to new followers—thank them and ask what they're working on
• Personalise it slightly based on their profile or niche
• Avoid selling—focus on starting a real conversation
• Track how many respond, and note any content ideas that come from those chats

This builds trust early and helps you create more relevant content from real conversations.

Submissions + Feedback

Hope you enjoyed today’s post, if you know someone who may be interested, feel free to send it to them.

Also, if you want me to cover any specific subject on the next issue or share some feedback, feel free to reply to this email.

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