Was Barbie's Success Organic or Micro-Core Marketing Magic?

The fashion industry gets cache with certain kinds of people, but this is especially true with women. What film did massive profits recently that also is geared almost exclusively to women? That's right, Barbie. So, how can Hollywood utilize marketing tools within the fashion industry to bring success to a film like this? It's called "micro-cores."

The rise of micro-cores in western society has become increasingly popular as of late. Included within micro-cores are little subgroups, such as normcore, gopcore, and menocore. Well, micro-cores have now evolved into the most recent addition to the list, Barbiecore. Maybe the term "evolved" is a tad presumptuous though, since all the film marketing team for the Barbie film has to do is literally throw millions of dollars at some French, English, American, or Italian clothing designers to manufacture what looks to be an organic moment of pink Barbie fashion statements that seem to point towards a micro-core happening, and you have a new "movement."

Easy peasie? Not for people outside of Hollywood who don't have millions to throw around. But for Hollywood... yes.

So, do you mean, if you can manage to get the iconic bright pink fashion pieces to be worn by actors Ryan Gosling and Margot Robbie, and then you can send them out in public to get some convenient pics, do you mean this simple act can start an entire fashion core? Basically, yes.

I mean, is the color pink is trending now, or is this the result of a few strategically placed moments with actors and models getting photo ops with the same bright pink colors? Exactly.

Vogue Magazine comments on this here, but suffice to say, they are fully aware that these micro-cores can be used to promote something more than good fashion, and even they don't always appreciate Hollywood inserting themselves in what should otherwise be an organically grown fashion statement. But Hollywood seems less interested in being authentic. Instead they can muscle people around and grease the gears with marketing dollars that may even exceed their film's production budgets.

Reported here and in other places, this is actually true (although based in estimated costs). They report that the film itself was $145 million, and the marketing was upwards of $150m.

Surprised? I'm not. That's Hollywood... which is more tinsel than town.

Did you enjoy this article? Did you know about micro-cores and about how Hollywood can use marketing dollars in ways to get attention for their films? Comment on our social media or down below (with subscription).