How Barbie is Making $$$ (STRATEGY) + Too Many Famous People.
Big Media potential lawsuit v. gen AI.
Sorry this is short but I’m very busy w/ my startup!
The Agenda:
Opinion/Links
How Barbie is making $$$. (STRATEGY) [Hollywood, B2C, IP]
Too many famous people. (Mission: Impossible) [Hollywood, AI]
Big Media potential lawsuit v. gen AI. [AI, Tech Regulation]
Gap hires the man who revived Barbie twice. (STRATEGY) [Fashion/Luxury, IP]
More IP revivals cross-platform. [IP]
Monday Motivation
"My personal opinion about the world is that it's homogenized." (Mickey Drexler; Gap, J. Crew)
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Opinion/Links
Hollywood
How Barbie is making $$$ (STRATEGY) [Hollywood, B2C, IP]
Barbenheimer continues to dominate worldwide, with Barbie making almost USD 800M (review bombing aside) and Oppenheimer garnering USD 400M. Interestingly, the rev. split for both movies is almost 50-50 US/international. Global appeal! Bullet points:
They are v. similar, actually. Based on my observations: Even though Barbie skews female and Oppenheimer skews male, both are selling a power fantasy mixed with existential dread. I wonder if this is the winning combo to get adults to buy your product. Let’s go, quarter-life, mid-life crises!
Unique influencer strategy (Barbie). Mattel/Warner Bros. got the absolutely best influencer endorsements possible with Elon Musk’s tweet and Ben Shapiro’s 43-minute react video helping the IP go even more viral, potentially helping drive ticket sales. If no publicity is bad publicity, then Mattel/WB didn’t just hit a publicity goldmine, they hit a publicity blockchain. Did they know what they were doing when they dove headfirst into the culture wars? Oh, I think they knew exactly what they were doing.
Traditionalism and progressivism. I was wondering if feminist Barbie would play well to conservative abroad, and it looks like it is! You can have your cake and eat it, too?
The silent majority probably sits somewhere in between the extreme voices you hear on the Internet. Gerwig and co. so deftly balanced a progressive message while acknowledging nuance and traditional iconography, and not being mean-spirited. The balancing act seems to have worked.
Like Mario, Mexico has emerged as a major international market for Barbie, and, more importantly, so has China (?!).
Important to note that The Little Mermaid and Across the Spider-Verse did well in the US, but not as well abroad. Can’t avoid the issue of race, unfortunately.
China’s state-run media, which came out swinging against The Little Mermaid for “political correctness”, so far hasn’t said much against anti-patriarchy Barbie. Nine-dash line? Though it does look like an untapped market is being tapped.
Iconography. Barbie is presented as being Margot Robbie blonde-haired and blue-eyed, in line with what many associate the IP with. Contrast with Ariel’s race-swap. Gerwig was smart to still move things forward by dubbing Robbie “stereotypical Barbie” and putting minority Barbies in positions of power. White savior, maybe (applies to Oppenheimer as well?)? As the Barbie movie calls out.
$$$: Mattel and Warner Bros. execs have gone on a publicity tour in biz media re: Barbie:
Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz, a former TV exec, emphasized LT franchise mgmt, also declared a big shift in Mattel’s strategy and DNA. The idea was to create a cultural phenomenon with Barbie. Capture the full value of the IP.
Movie-related product selling out fast - halo effect from film. In other words, “monetize the IP in an asset-light manner”, like I said last week. Financial impact of movie expected in 2H23.
LT strategy appears blue ocean as the movie targets an older audience. UBS is looking at licensing IP to consumer products (super high-margin). But how many pink-colored handbags can you sell LT? I wonder if the film’s real-world ending is setting Barbie up for other things. BTW there are hints at more Barbie film and TV.
WB marketing of movie: 1) Defy expectations: bold and different, 2) tone-setting, curiosity-building (2001: A Space Odyssey trailer), 3) counterintuitive use of word “hate”, 4) turn the marketing into a movement, and 5) cross-platform.
Male execs, as the Barbie movie calls out.
“IP-ification” of Oppenheimer, like I said last week. I’m sure the sex (Florence Pugh) and violence (implied body count) helped. What should Mattel’s eternal rival, Hasbro, do in light of Barbie’s massive success and Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’ underperformance? Simple: Hire Christopher Nolan to direct the next Transformers. ;P
Movies truly are theme park rides now. Bright colors (Barbie) and explosions (Oppenheimer). Paraphrasing Martin Scorsese’s now-famous remark. OTH, Scorsese’s own oeuvre features famous gangster IP, which many men project themselves onto, as the Barbie movie calls out.
Deep understanding of target demo. I left the theater right away once the credits rolled on Barbie, but I was the only one. The rest of the audience looked like they were in a trance. In the Philippines. I keep thinking about America Ferrera’s speech.
Will Barbie outgross Mario? One potential delta is China. Mario didn’t do well in China, I wonder if the fact that Mario is Japanese IP played a role. OTH that just goes to show how beloved Mario is outside of China.
We ALL <3 toys. Barbie is a toy, and Oppenheimer features a massively destructive one. Reportedly, people were cosplaying (thanks, Japan!) as Barbie and Oppenheimer. Adults projecting themselves onto IP, the same way children do with toys.
[The importance of IP in the digital economy; Masking; People judge a book by its cover, unfortunately; Cultural globalization; Evolving the IP.]
Too many famous people. (Mission: Impossible) [Hollywood, AI]
Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One hit a franchise-worst on week 2, reeling from Barbenheimer. At this point, even The Sound of Freedom has grossed more in the US. What’s going on?
The IP was always a relatively low-grosser in the US.
Reflection of underlying demographic changes.
“Hollywood franchises are getting stale.” Though that doesn’t mean original movies are the solution. IMO, one solution is a “prestigious filmmaker crafting a crowd-pleaser that combined mainstream tastes with a specificity that made it stand out from the pack.” Bold text mine.
IMO, the appeal was a famous guy doing stunts. But thanks to Tik Tok, aka the Andy Warhol machine because everyone gets their fifteen minutes of fame, the supply of famous people has exploded. Movie stars just aren’t the living gods they once were.
Which brings me to a larger point about traditional Hollywood and the changing times. NYU biz prof Scott Galloway recently published an oped about the Hollywood writers and actors strikes and AI. He says something that any economist/analyst would tell you:
ST, Galloway recommends that the strikers and studios join forces and sue gen AI over IP, which is what everyone else seems to be doing. But given that studios/streamers are reportedly hiring a lot of AI talent in the midst of the strikes, reconciliation doesn’t seem to be in the cards right now.
LT, IMO winners would be showrunners and actors who can be associated with/produce an IP (Margot Robbie was a producer on Barbie). IP creators. Also, traditional Hollywood should lean in on its expertise in “event-izing” (finance, marketing) IP, as in the case of Barbie above.
[Premiumization; The importance of IP in the digital economy.]
AI, Tech Regulation
Big Media potential lawsuit v. gen AI. [AI, Tech Regulation]
Over in AI lawsuit news, media mogul Barry Diller is reportedly close to formalizing a coalition of media co.’s vs. gen AI. The group includes The New York Times and News Corp. A lawsuit and even legislative action are possible. This time around, publishers don’t want millions - they want billions. Meanwhile, the WSJ is covering a collective outcry among content creators vs. AI.
[The importance of IP in the digital economy.]
Fashion/Luxury
Gap hires the man who revived Barbie twice. (STRATEGY) [Fashion/Luxury, IP]
Mattel literally informed staff that President and COO Richard Dickson was leaving right as they were celebrating Barbie’s success. Dickson will be the fashion co. Gap’s new CEO.
Dickson revived Barbie twice, doing things like distilling the IP’s signature pink to one tone only, and then adding diversity to the product line. He effectively made the IP instantly recognizable and then platform-ized it, perhaps paving the way for the movie’s massive success. But can these IP strategies work at a fashion company?
TBH, I don’t think Gap has a choice. How can you compete against fast fashion platforms like Shein? I don’t think Gap has the scale to be 100% platform like Shein and invite potential IP lawsuits (Hmm. Not dissimilar to gen AI above). So maybe Gap will have better luck as 50% brand, 50% platform, per Barbie. Let’s keep an eye on what happens.
[Everything is approaching entertainment; Artisanship at scale.]
IP
More IP revivals cross-platform. [IP]
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which is already getting a sequel and TV show; Gran Turismo; Twisted Metal. Donald Glover to co-write and star in a Lando Calrissian TV show.
Monday Motivation
"My personal opinion about the world is that it's homogenized." (Mickey Drexler; Gap, J. Crew)
Nicely sums up everything above, from the exec who turned around Ann Taylor, Gap, and J. Crew.
GO FOR IT! REACH YOUR GOAL!