Barbie fans react in horror to ‘terrifying’ Dubai marketing stunt: ‘I think I’d go into cardiac arrest’

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Washington Bureau Chief

Warner Bros may have taken it just a step too far with its incredibly effective Barbie marketing campaign.

In the lead-up to Greta Gerwig’s critical and box office hit, the studio launched an extensive promotional campaign in order to successfully drum up hype for the Margot Robbie-fronted comedy.

Between influencing summer fashion to teaming up with companies like Crocs and Airbnb, Barbie has taken the world by storm.

However, one particular marketing stunt is going viral for its “terrifying” nature, with several fans expressing relief to not having seen it in person.

Located in front of the world’s tallest skyscraper, Dubai’s monumental Burj Khalifa, is a gigantic 3D, virtual model of Barbie wearing her iconic white-framed sunglasses and black and white striped swimsuit.

Every few minutes, the Mattel doll takes a step out of her boxed packaging to strike her famous hand-on-the-hip pose.

Reacting in horror to a clip of the marketing stunt posted to Twitter, one fan said: “If i saw this in real life i think i’d go into cardiac arrest.”

“This would scare the living crap out of me if I saw it without knowing what was going to happen...,” a second agreed.

A third commented that they surely “would have pissed my pants if i saw this”. “Have we learned nothing from the freakishly realistic Japanese billboards and that doll from Squid Game,” they joked.

“This f***ing ad actually looks terrifying i would’ve cried,” another wrote.

Since the film’s release, it has already broken box office records, earning $337m (£265.4m) in global ticket sales from its opening weekend.

As a result, it has been assumed that its large-scale marketing campaign must’ve cost a fortune to roll out.

“The reason people think we spent so much is that it’s so ubiquitous,” Warner Bros president of global marketing Josh Goldstine recently told Variety. “Because it pierced the zeitgeist, it has the impression that we spend so much.”

While he wouldn’t share figures, Goldstine reassured: “In fact, we spent responsibly for an event movie.”

Barbie stars Margot Robbie as the eponymous Mattel doll who embarks on a journey into the real world to discover her life’s purpose.

Ryan Gosling, meanwhile, plays Barbie’s boyfriend Ken. Issa Rae, America Ferreira, Kate McKinnon, Michael Cera and Simu Liu also feature.

The film has received rapturous praise from numerous critics, including The Independent’s Clarisse Loughrey, who called it a “near-miraculous achievement” in her five-star review.

Barbie is out in cinemas now.