Behind the Buzz - digital and interactive advertising and marketing

Barbie Girl

by Rachel on April 30th, 2007

From John Swords, I see that Mattel have jumped into the virtual world with the launch of BarbieGirls. So far it is just in beta…bet the copywriters had fun with this message ;-)

hey, girl!

You’re one of the first to check out BarbieGirls.com ! Cool, huh?

Right now we’re in “beta,” which means we’re still working on the site to make it even better. Some stuff might change, and some things are still being fixed.

But we’ll be done soon!

On signing up, you get to create your avatar and your room. A straightforward interface lets you choose hair, facial characteristics, clothes and accessories. You also get to chose room style.

And here’s where you get the real genius of the world. In order to access the coolest styles, you need to have bought a special Barbie, one that plugs into the computer, to unlock the content.

Once outside your room, you can wander around the Barbie World, to shops, cinemas, etc. Throughout your journey you can earn BarbieBucks, for example by watching the full trailer for a Barbie Film; most things you can do for money appear to be advertising in some form or another. You can spend them on other objects in the shops, although many are restricted to those with Barbie dolls only.

There is in-world chat, which is heavily moderated in the public rooms. Words, such as numbers, are restrcited to prevent the swapping of phone numbers or addresses. Private rooms are available, but only between ‘best friends’ which means you need to have met the people in real life and plugged each others dolls into the other computer, proving you have met.

Secret B Chat™ — This private chat occurs only in a girl’s room and is only available to “best friends” — that is, girls who both own a Barbie Girl™ and have physically connected it to one another’s computer via the docking station. Since “best friends” know each other in real life, Secret B Chat™ is designed to let these girls discuss more than B Chat™ allows. But our filters still block any obscene or threatening language

It looks an interesting addition into the metaverse, although the heavy marketing within the game may prove to much for some. I can understand the drivers behind that, but find it slightly unsettling. they seem to be doing all they can to make it safe but still fun. If your daughter is into Barbie, then this is a good extension into the world.

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POSTED IN: Engaging the Customer, Virtual Worlds