Barbie fans react in horror to ‘terrifying’ Dubai marketing stunt

Warner Bros might have taken it only a step too far with its extremely efficient Barbie marketing marketing campaign.

Within the lead-up to Greta Gerwig’s vital and field workplace hit, the studio launched an in depth promotional marketing campaign in order to efficiently drum up hype for the Margot Robbie-fronted comedy.

Between influencing summer season style to teaming up with firms like Crocs and Airbnb, Barbie has taken the world by storm.

Nonetheless, one specific marketing stunt goes viral for its “terrifying” nature, with a number of fans expressing aid to not having seen it in particular person.

Positioned in entrance of the world’s tallest skyscraper, Dubai’s monumental Burj Khalifa, is a big 3D, digital mannequin of Barbie sporting her iconic white-framed sun shades and black and white striped swimsuit.

Each couple of minutes, the Mattel doll takes a step out of her boxed packaging to strike her well-known hand-on-the-hip pose.

Reacting in horror to a clip of the marketing stunt posted to Twitter, one fan stated: “If i noticed this in actual life i feel i’d go into cardiac arrest.”

“This is able to scare the residing crap out of me if I noticed it with out figuring out what was going to occur…,” a second agreed.

A 3rd commented that they certainly “would have pissed my pants if i noticed this”. “Have we realized nothing from the freakishly sensible Japanese billboards and that doll from Squid Sport,” they joked.

“This f***ing advert really appears to be like terrifying i’d’ve cried,” one other wrote.

Because the movie’s launch, it has already damaged field workplace data, incomes $337m (£265.4m) in international ticket gross sales from its opening weekend.

Because of this, it has been assumed that its large-scale marketing marketing campaign should’ve break the bank to roll out.

“The rationale individuals suppose we spent a lot is that it’s so ubiquitous,” Warner Bros president of worldwide marketing Josh Goldstine not too long ago advised Variety. “As a result of it pierced the zeitgeist, it has the impression that we spend a lot.”

Whereas he wouldn’t share figures, Goldstine reassured: “Actually, we spent responsibly for an occasion film.”

Barbie stars Margot Robbie because the eponymous Mattel doll who embarks on a journey into the actual world to uncover her life’s goal.

Ryan Gosling, in the meantime, performs Barbie’s boyfriend Ken. Issa Rae, America Ferreira, Kate McKinnon, Michael Cera and Simu Liu additionally function.

The movie has obtained rapturous reward from quite a few critics, together with The Unbiased’s Clarisse Loughrey, who known as it a “near-miraculous achievement” in her five-star evaluate.

Barbie is out in cinemas now.