With the movie Barbie just 12 days away from its release, fashion e-commerce company Myntra reimagines Bollywood veteran actor Rekha as the widely loved fashion doll Barbie with the help of Generative AI.
Barbie, which was manufactured by American toy company Mattel in 1959 is today 64 years old, still a favourite among children and widely loved and remembered.
The movie ‘Barbie’ stars Ryan Gosling and Margot Robbie as Ken and Barbie, and the Mattel and Warner Bros Discovery teams have capitalised on the upcoming film through social media campaigns, experiential marketing and brand partnerships.
However, it’s unclear if Myntra had an official tie up with the movie.
Regardless, the Flipkart owned e-commerce major and its agency Younguns recreated Rekha as Barbie and the results are incredible.
But as soon as the images went online, some social media users have pointed to the issue of ethics and privacy regarding AI and its uses. Some wondered if Rekha actually gave her permission to use her as a reimagined Barbie. Others pondered the bigger questions of AI use as we enter a world dominated by new technologies like generative artificial intelligence.
Younguns is a meme marketing agency that has also created previous viral works for brands like Myntra and Swiggy among others.
About Barbie’s mega marketing drive
Back to Barbie the movie. Mattel and WB have secured more than 100 brand partnership deals, some of the marketing tactics include teaming up with NYX Pro Makeup where they came up with a line of products. Barbie collaborated with Microsoft too and came up with the Barbie Movie doll collection, or the Xbox Barbie DreamHouse Custom Console with Controllers.
Barbie partnered with vacation rental company Airbnb where Barbie’s Malibu Dreamhouse is going up for rent on Airbnb. As per a report, fans of Barbie will get a chance to apply for a one-night stay for two guests on July 21 and July 22.
Zero sugar beverage company Swoon released a limited edition Barbie pink lemonade and the luggage brand Beiss rolled out a suitcase range.
Read more here: Meme Marketing 2023: How memes become weapons of virality in a brand’s marketing arsenal