Barbie teams up with the WNBA

Barbie knows how to slam-dunk.

She also knows how to leverage the growing momentum of popular brands.

Since the release of the Barbie movie last year, there are few brands Barbie hasn’t partnered with in one way or another. From Gap, to Vans, Hot Topic and NYX Cosmetics, Mattel inked more than 100 brand partnerships before the film even premiered.

Barbie has been working overtime.

And now she plays basketball, too. In the latest brand campaign with the WNBA, Barbie is leaning into the rising popularity and focus on women’s sports in recent years.

The new 'Give Limitless Possibilities' campaign centres around a short film made to inspire the next generation of girls and young women. The brand introduced the film at last week's match-up between the Chicago Sky and Indiana Fever.

'Give Limitless Possibilities' shows a montage of children playing with Barbie dolls, while adults reflect on the traits and opportunities they would give their kids. Things like, joy, kindness, curiosity, confidence, and belief in themselves.

The Barbie brand generally appeals to a wide range of audiences. But this campaign is meant to resonate with parents, caregivers, gift givers (right before holiday season, go figure), and anyone that wants to inspire and empower the next generation.

'It’s really grounded in this idea of, when you look at your friends, or the children in your life…you want to give them the world,' Krista Berger, SVP of Barbie and Global Head of Dolls at parent company Mattel, told Marketing Brew. 

'You want to give them limitless possibilities. You want them to know that they can be anything. By showcasing that gifting a Barbie doll can help unlock these limitless possibilities, it doubles down on the brand purpose and messaging of inspiring the next generation.'

And with that in mind, partnering with the WNBA is baller move.

This event was the first ever WNBA x Barbie themed night. The brand handed out custom Barbie x Chicago Sky Sherpa belt bags and co-branded shirts to the first 2,000 fans in Chicago’s Wintrust Arena.

Fans were also treated to hair braiding stations and a Barbie-branded photo op.

A brilliant place to debut a campaign, the WNBA opened its 2024 season with the highest attendance in 26 years. It also just clocked its most watched games ever on national television.

The sport has seen unprecedented growth over the last few years. And it continues to skyrocket, currently tripling last season’s average.

Building boss babes.

The Barbie brand has always been about inspiration, empowerment, inclusivity and representation.

Teaming up with a previously under-represented sector in sports is a clever move with powerful messaging—the sky really is the limit.

I know, it sounds cliché, but maybe I want to drink the Kool-Aid a little. Because at the core of Barbie's brand is infinite possibilities. A future where you can literally be anything you want to be.

There's an insane amount of uncertainty in jobs, the planet, the economy, relationships, the impending possibility of a zombie cordyceps break-out...So it’s nice to know that the gal that was there from the start is still rooting for us. And she's encouraging our kids to feel that way before the doubt and fear kicks in.

Whether you think she’s just a silly plastic doll or not, Barbie is a net positive on this earth.

It’s nice to know she’s not going anywhere any time soon.

-Sophie, Writer