Barbie Takes Flight: Mattel and Spafax Bring Branded Channel to Airline Market

Through its timely IFE partnership with Mattel, Spafax demonstrates its trend-tapping ability to capture the zeitgeist, melding its expertise in entertainment and travel.Through its timely IFE partnership with Mattel, Spafax demonstrates its trend-tapping ability to capture the zeitgeist, melding its expertise in entertainment and travel.

Let’s take a flight, Barbie! Spafax, the world-leading inflight media agency, has partnered with Mattel to introduce a branded Barbie channel on inflight entertainment systems (IFE). In what has already shaped up to be a pivotal moment for the Barbie brand, the pink-hued summer of 2023 is still going strong. Leaning into the Barbie furor, leading global airlines Qatar Airways, British Airways, Iberia Airlines and Aer Lingus have all adding the branded Barbie channel aimed at younger audiences to their inflight entertainment.

As part of this industry-first content deal between Mattel, the makers of Barbie, and Spafax, the world’s leading media agency supporting inflight entertainment, the content is now available to the airline market on various IFE platforms, including on seatback screens and passengers’ personal devices.

Spanning a variety of Barbie-themed animated programming, including nearly a dozen films, some highlights of the branded Barbie channel include movies like “Barbie Mermaid Power”, an underwater rescue mission by Malibu Barbie and friends, and “Barbie Dreamhouse Adventures”, a fun, heartwarming new series that spans at-home shenanigans and on-the-road adventures for Barbie and her crew.

“It’s an exciting moment for Mattel, as we continue our movement into being an IP-driven company with a full franchise approach. This deal with Spafax helps us expand our entertainment offering to consumers, meaning that wherever they are fans of our shows can enjoy the content they love,” said Alex Godfrey, VP Content Distribution.

Through its timely IFE partnership with Mattel, Spafax demonstrates its trend-tapping ability to capture the zeitgeist, melding its expertise in entertainment and travel. Spafax has always strived to stay in tune with airline passengers’ desires – right now, it’s the insatiable appetite for all things Barbie.

Creativity and cultural awareness underpin careful brand alignment strategies in Spafax’s content activations, combined with an advanced suite of custom content delivery and playback technologies. Spafax ensures seamless content distribution and viewer experience to the end user cruising at 30,000 feet.

From her 1959 debut to today’s global renaissance, Barbie has dazzled the world, evolving into an international sensation with an insatiable fanbase. With over two-million Instagram fans and many entertainment titles, her magic touch continues. The staggering 151 million minutes spent on Barbie’s YouTube and the 18 billion minutes of fan-created content each year testify to her timeless charm.

“At Spafax, we’ve always had an instinct for what resonates. This partnership is yet another instance where we’ve tapped into the global pulse at just the right moment, melding our entertainment know-how with travel expertise amidst the Barbie renaissance,” says Spafax Director of TV Acquisitions and Partnerships, Emma Gunn.