In a recent interview promoting the upcoming Barbie film, Margot Robbie lightheartedly criticized Bitcoin as a stereotypically masculine topic of conversation. She revealed that during pre-production, she and director Greta Gerwig would jokingly make fun of male producers like David Heyman and Robbie’s husband Tom Ackerly for frequently talking about cryptocurrency. Robbie said she and Gerwig would act bored and accuse the men of exhibiting “typical Ken behavior,” playfully telling them to stop being so stereotypically male when bringing up Bitcoin.
Margot Robbie’s joking comments hinted at the stereotypically masculine traits displayed by Ryan Gosling’s character Ken in the Barbie movie. Since the film’s release, “Ken” has become an internet shorthand for vain, arrogant, or chauvinistic male behavior. Although Robbie has seldom openly discussed her opinions on Bitcoin or crypto, Barbie producer Mattel has been vocal about blockchain technology as a potential new income source for its products.
Mattel’s Global Head of Barbie, Lisa McKnight, has said that Mattel has worked for years to update Barbie and align her with contemporary culture. This has included Barbie’s expansion into the NFT marketplace. Most recently, leading up to the Barbie movie release, Mattel partnered with women-led crypto brand Boss Beauties to drop a series of Barbie-themed NFTs. McKnight praised this as a way to empower women and collectors in Web3. Last year, Mattel also released Barbie NFTs with fashion house Balmain. Mattel sees NFTs as a way to modernize and culturally align the Barbie brand.
Mattel seems to have substantial intentions for blockchain and NFTs. In April, they launched a Flow blockchain marketplace where users can directly buy and sell Mattel NFTs for cryptocurrency profits. Mattel has stated this marketplace and their overall NFT efforts will grow beyond current brands like Barbie and Hot Wheels to include more Mattel properties. With 45 toy-based films in development, many contingent on the success of Barbie’s box office performance, Mattel is aggressively expanding NFTs and blockchain alongside its entertainment production. The Barbie film has already grossed over $775 million in just two weeks, validating Mattel’s multimedia strategy.
