BARBENHEIMER A marketing gimmick that took the internet by storm

If you are even remotely active on social media or the internet, there is no way you have not heard about ‘Barbenheimer’ in the past few days. Barbenheimer is a portmanteau that combines the words ‘Barbie’ and ‘Oppenheimer’ both of which are famous movies that were released on the 21st of July worldwide.

Barbie, directed by Greta Gerwig, is a movie about Barbie and Ken, two dolls from Barbie Land, who get a chance to witness life in the so-called real world. This movie has undertones of feminism, value and appreciation of life. It is a light hearted movie that still provides the audience with a message.

On the other hand, Oppenheimer by Christopher Nolan is a movie based on the 2005 biography American Prometheus by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin.  This eponymous film explores the invention of the atomic bomb – and the implications of creating such a deadly weapon. The movie also dwells on the moral dilemma of physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer.

As we see, the two movies come from opposite settings and backgrounds. One is purely fictional while the other is based on true events. One shows the world of pink while the other shows a hazy world of the atom bomb.  Since the movies are technically poles apart, a clash of some sort was bound to happen. People could pick between the childish Barbie or the serious Oppenheimer. As soon as the dates were released, people started making their choices and teams were made.

But what happened next was mind blowing.  The “Barbenheimer” meme was born early last year when it was announced that Warner Bros.' “Barbie” would be released in theatres the same day as Universal Pictures’ “Oppenheimer.” Twitter instantly latched onto the dichotomy of the two films, cracking jokes about the light and dark nature of the respective movies. It spread from twitter, to every social media page.  People all over were fascinated by this crossover. The teams were merging into one. The meme and the marketing were so strong, that the question in one’s mind changed from “When are we watching Barbie or Oppenheimer?” to “When are we watching Barbie AND Oppenheimer? 

Both the movies had their own separate fan base but after the popularity of Barbenheimer the fan base started uniting. There was no hate in the market for either of the movies. Considering how Barbie was a part of almost everyone’s childhood, it was important to keep the nostalgic value in mind. Oppenheimer was based not only on a true story, but also on a story that affected the lives of many people. Seeing the intensity of the content, it was very easy for the marketing teams or the media to spread hate about either one of the movies causing them to fail. But instead, the media decided to thrive on the polarity. They made trailers and posters of Barbenheimer, in order to show how opposites can in fact coexist. This highlights the power of social media marketing.  You have two movies that would normally compete for audience attention, but thanks to a viral meme uniting the two, both films may now see higher box-office totals than previously expected.  Not only the media, but the directors and actors of the respective movies have also acknowledged and supported this endeavour.  Barbenheimer is a record changer in today’s media industry.

“Opposites attract” is a commonly used phrase, though I always doubted its credibility. But in this case, it is safe to say that opposites do attract. From this entire event, we see how the media has evolved. Over the past few decades, the internet was used as a platform to spread rumours and hate. But now, as the generations progress, we see a conscious effort from people to make the internet a safe and happy space. Be it dressing in two different aesthetics for the two movies or a movie marathon, this gimmick has given people a way to express and enjoy themselves. And in my opinion, that is exactly what a movie should do.

(Also, personally, I would cross dress for the two movies, just for fun)

~ Radhika Shete

Writer

AICUF Editorial Volunteer