At the end of July 2023, posts circulated on social networks that a huge doll had appeared in Dubai as part of the promotion of the film. Many people referred to the video where Barbie was seen moving. We have verified this story.
The viral video shows skyscraper Burj Khalifa in Dubai. Against the background of the tallest building in the world is an impressive box with a Barbie doll from Mattel. At some point, the toy “comes to life”: it breaks through the pink blister pack, takes a couple of steps and stops. However, some users thinkthat the height of the doll reached 800 m (almost like the Burj Khalifa), although Barbie seems so tall only because of the shooting angle.
The authors of some publications did not specify that a video existed, showing only a frame with the caption “A huge Barbie appeared next to the Burj Khalifa in Dubai,” as was the case, for example, on VKontakte in the public 4ch (76,000 views at the time of writing this analysis). But in most posts with approximately the same wording, they either mentioned the presence of the video, for example in the public “Ax - storage"(302,000), or posted a video, for example, in the verified community "Radio Like FM"(other examples here, here, here And here). Entries about the appearance of a giant doll can also be found on Facebook* (in particular, a post from Smart Magazine collected 1000 likes) and in Telegram channels, including “VPS"(347,000) and Super.ru (82,000).
According to comments, some users have the impression that as part of the film's marketing and promotional campaign, "Barbie"with Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, a 3D hologram was shown on the streets of Dubai or a large inflatable animatronic figure was placed.
In fact, both options are incorrect.
The original source of the video that went viral: Instagram*-account @eyestudioae, where the original post with the caption “Hi Barbie, are you looking for Ken?” appeared still July 20, 2023. According to the profile description, Eye Studio is a social media marketing advertising agency based in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. It specializes in creating creative content, CGI animation and illustrations. CGI, or computer-generated imagery, are images generated using three-dimensional computer graphics, and one of authors viral video - Neil Santos, 3D technology specialist. That is, Barbie at the Burj Khalifa was not real.
The video with the 3D doll received several million views only on the studio’s official account - without taking into account all the re-uploads and placements on other platforms. Creative Director Juhi Rupani told The National publication that she and her team were shocked by this result, since there had never been such a reaction to Eye Studio’s content before. In an interview with Campaign Middle East Rupani confirmed, that her company has not officially collaborated with either the toy manufacturer or the film studio that made the blockbuster. That is, the video was not created as part of a PR campaign for the film.
By words Rupani, the idea for the video came during one of the brainstorming sessions, since “everyone is talking about Barbie now.” According to data The National, the video took about three days to create: an animated puppet was superimposed on iPhone footage of the Burj Khalifa, while Rupani spoke to Campaign Middle East reportedthat the entire implementation process from start to finish took about 14 days. That is, in reality, people did not observe the giant figure.
The Eye Studio video refers to the beginning of the film "Barbie", which talked about the appearance of a popular doll - this fragment was shown also in the teaser trailer for the film. In this scene, the huge Barbie was presented in the same form - black and white bathing suit, sunglasses and earrings - as she first appeared in released in 1959. The episode itself is a parody prologue science fiction film "2001: A Space Odyssey» Stanley Kubrick. The same scene beat and in the video for the song Barbie World performed by Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice - this is the composition that is heard in the viral video.
*Russian authorities think Meta Platforms Inc., which owns the social networks Facebook and Instagram, is an extremist organization; its activities in Russia are prohibited.
Cover photo: screenshot “Verified” / @eyestudioae
- Is it true that a pregnant Ken doll was released in the USA?
- Is it true that the Arc de Triomphe in Paris was decorated with a huge rainbow flag in honor of Pride Month?
- The fictional world of Gek publics (VMGP)
If you find a spelling or grammatical error, please let us know by highlighting the error text and clicking Ctrl+Enter.
