Warner Bros, the studio behind the blockbuster of the year, pulled out all stops to paint the world Barbie-core pink. Even a few NBA legends on the Warner Bros. payroll weren’t spared. In fact, Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley were enlisted to promote the Margot Robbie-helmed movie to the NBA fan community in a big way.
There’s no profession Barbie has not tried out in her ageless life. It makes sense that her movie also infiltrates every field. The extent of how Shaq and Chuck contributed to the promotion of Barbie has now surfaced.
Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley pushed the Barbie agenda
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Even before Barbie officially hit theaters in July 2023, it became impossible to avoid the special pink synonymous with Barbara Millicent Roberts’ brand. Raking in $1.38 billion in the global box office, the movie is the biggest blockbuster of the year so far. All thanks to some sound marketing strategies to complement the established craze. At an event, Warner Bros Discovery CEO, David Zaslav explained how all the various sections of the studio’s properties found ways to promote the Barbie movie.
While HGTV was creating real life Barbie Dream Houses, the folks at TNT’s Inside the NBA were doing something subtle. The hosts Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, and Ernie Johnson casually discussed the movie on air between their usual sports talk.
“Every division of this company got behind Barbie,” Zaslav said about the massive marketing campaign. “Shaq and Charles Barkley, they were talking about ‘Barbie,'” he added.
“If you were watching a football match, at halftime, you saw ‘Barbie.'”
He credited the combined force of all the studio’s assets for turning the movie into a block buster especially their sports divisions.
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Expect more Barbie ‘Inside the NBA’
From Kobe Bryant‘s girls flaunting their Barbie-core styles to even Metta Sandiford-Artest gushing about the movie, Warner Bros is seizing every bit of the opportunity. This would’ve been a great moment for Shaq to break out his hot pink past again but more chances will come.
Barbie is also an athlete who has excelled at every sport, played basketball once, and has her own NBA versions too but now her connections to the league extend beyond that. The WB head honcho detailed plans to make the most of the Barbie craze for a long time.
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The movie is now gearing for a digital release and it’s promotion period is far from done. The studio has found a marketing template through Barbie that they will use for other franchises. Expect Shaq and Chuck to talk about more movies between basketball going forward.
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