Used Dream Cars

In the run-up to Mattel’s blockbuster film, Barbie was EVERYWHERE. And there was plenty of bright pink positivity to go around. But there was a dark side for true Barbie fans: massively inflated prices — and not just for the dolls.

People were completely cashing in on the moment and selling used Barbie Dream Cars (toy cars) on resale sites for prices 10 times or more their normal value.

This was a chance for Car Bravo, General Motors’ used car shopping platform, to win hearts. The brand is dedicated to fair and honest prices, so it brought that philosophy to Barbie mania.

With a modest budget, Car Bravo bought a fleet of overpriced used Barbie toy cars and listed them at reasonable rates, just like the full-sized vehicles are on the site.

Truth Well Told: Car Bravo turned the real-world inflation around Barbie into an opportunity to illustrate its dedication to fair and honest prices in a timely, entertaining way. For every Dream Car on the site, Car Bravo saw 12x more views of real-world cars. The Dream Cars sold out, and 2.3M in real cars were also sold to Barbie email recipients, leading to Car Bravo’s best sales month in history.