Johannesburg - Barbie fangirls were spoiled this past Saturday when a select number of young ladies were invited to the official launch of Mattel’s Barbie in Rock 'n Royals DVD.
The event, held at Montecasino on Saturday afternoon, attracted several pre-teens well before the official noon launch and showed that Barbie is holding her own as a superstar among this age group.
The event attracted many little girls, almost all wearing Barbie-branded clothing, accompanied by moms and the odd dad and a brother or two.
As the starting time of the launch event drew nearer, Montecasino was positively swarming with hundreds of little, and some not so little, Barbie fans. Pink was certainly the colour of the day.
Fans could have photos taken at booths, while Barbie-branded juices and yoghurts were consumed and there were enough pink and white doughnuts to feed a small (pre-teen female) army. As expected, there was a constant stream of people at the Barbie merchandising table.
The main event kicked of with a viewing of finalists in the Barbie video Show Us Your Shine! Competition, which was followed by the announcement of winners for the competition. None other than Barbie herself and PJ Powers were on hand to congratulate the winners, who won prizes such as a studio recording experience with friends, Edgars fashion vouchers, the new Barbie Rock 'n Royals Princess Courtney and Erika dolls and playset, a Barbie in Rock 'n Royals guitar.
The video competition encouraged fans to perform - sing, dance or play air guitar - to “What if I shine”, a track on the DVD, and have their parents record the performance.
This was followed by a mini concert by PJ Powers and this saw many of the little ones, both girls and boys, up on stage dancing.
Finally the time arrived when the lights dimmed and the new Barbie DVD was shown to the delight of all pre-teens in the cinema.
The movie shows Barbie as Princess Courtney, but a mix-up sends her to Camp Pop and Erika, a famous rock star, to Camp Royalty as the two characters get mixed up. As is typical of Barbie movies, the heroine overcomes all the obstacles in her way to - as the promotional press release says - show girls “everyone can unlock their dreams if they just try”.
“While the leaders of the rival camps try to correct the mix-up, both Courtney and Erika learn to adjust to the different worlds and have fun while making new, unexpected friends. When the girls learn both camps are at risk of shutting down, they must embrace their differences, find their true voices, and come together for an epic sing-off that shows anything is possible when you dare to dream big.”
IOL