The best toy marketing campaigns turn a product into an event or a movement. Barbie's 2023 film campaign brought more than 100 brand collaborations and about $1.4 billion at the box office, according to Variety. LEGO ran its first global brand campaign in about 30 years, and Hot Wheels turned fan-built cars into real toys. Here are five toy campaigns, with what each one reported.
Last updated: October 31, 2026. Results are as reported by brands, awards entries and the press, not independently audited.
In this guide
- Which toy campaigns made this list?
- Which toy campaign is best for each goal?
- What are the five best toy marketing campaigns?
- What do the best toy campaigns have in common?
- How can toy brands copy these campaigns?
- Where can you find more toy marketing guides?
- Frequently asked questions
Which toy campaigns made this list?
This list covers five campaigns from Mattel and the LEGO Group: Barbie, LEGO's Rebuild the World, the Hot Wheels Legends Tour, Hot Wheels For Real and LEGO Education's Hannah Rebuilds the World. Each one was chosen because the brand, an awards body or a trade outlet published details of what it did.
"Best" is a judgment call, so this is 5W's pick of campaigns with a clear mechanism, not a ranking by sales. Several of these campaigns did not publish a sales figure, and the table says so instead of guessing. Hot Wheels appears twice because its 2012 stunt and its fan-car tour are different ideas from different eras.
| Campaign | Brand | Idea | Reported result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barbie film campaign (2023) | Mattel and Warner Bros. | A movie surrounded by more than 100 brand partnerships | About $1.4 billion at the box office |
| Rebuild the World (2019) | LEGO Group | The first global brand campaign in about 30 years | No sales figure published |
| Hot Wheels Legends Tour (ongoing) | Mattel | Fans build custom cars and the winner becomes a die-cast toy | Over 10 million fans engaged in the 2020 virtual tour |
| Hot Wheels For Real (2012) | Mattel | A world-record jump at the Indianapolis 500 | A world record and new licensing partners |
| Hannah Rebuilds the World (2020 to 2023) | LEGO Education | An origin-story film series about learning | No sales figure published |
Which toy campaign is best for each goal?
The best toy campaign depends on the goal: Barbie for reach through partners, LEGO's Rebuild the World for repositioning a brand, the Hot Wheels Legends Tour for turning fans into product designers, and Hot Wheels For Real for moving a toy brand toward entertainment. The table matches each goal to the case with the clearest published evidence for it. The matches are 5W's reading of public information.
| If your goal is... | Look at | What was reported |
|---|---|---|
| Reach through brand partners | Barbie | More than 100 partnerships, according to Business Insider |
| A single message across countries | LEGO Rebuild the World | Film versions of 103, 90, 60 and 30 seconds and digital out-of-home in seven major cities |
| Fans who help make the product | Hot Wheels Legends Tour | The winning fan car becomes a Hot Wheels die-cast |
| A shift from toys to entertainment | Hot Wheels For Real | A world record, new licensing partners and a film studio's interest |
| Building emotional ties to learning | Hannah Rebuilds the World | Short films from LEGO Education, entered at Cannes Lions |
What are the five best toy marketing campaigns?
The five campaigns below run from a global film event to a fan contest that ends with a toy on store shelves.
1. Barbie: a film campaign built on partnerships
Mattel and Warner Bros. surrounded the 2023 Barbie film with more than 100 international partnerships, according to Business Insider. The partners ranged from ice cream and roller skates to a Barbie-themed Xbox. The film earned $337 million worldwide in its opening weekend, including $162 million in the United States, according to The Current.
The partnerships also paid Mattel. Axios, citing the Wall Street Journal, reported that some partners paid a flat licensing fee while others gave Mattel a 5% to 15% share of sales. Variety reported that the film reached about $1.4 billion at the global box office. The Current also noted that some marketing experts had critiques of the campaign, so it is not a flawless model.
Why it works: The partner deals promoted the film and produced licensing revenue for the toy company at the same time.
2. LEGO "Rebuild the World": a first global brand campaign
The LEGO Group launched Rebuild the World on September 17, 2019, and trade outlet LBB described it as the company's first campaign launch in 30 years. The campaign came from the LEGO Agency and the Paris agency BETC. Its film follows a chase between a rabbit and a hunter, and every character, animal and vehicle in it is based on an existing or past LEGO toy, according to LBB.
The launch film ran in 103, 90, 60 and 30 second versions on broadcast and in cinemas. It also ran on digital out-of-home screens in London, Paris, Beijing, Mexico City, Berlin, San Francisco and New York. The Drum reported that seven UK landmarks received LEGO makeovers as part of the launch. By 2021, LBB noted, the campaign was in its third year. LEGO did not publish a sales figure in the sources reviewed for this list.
Why it works: A single phrase that only LEGO could say gave every market the same message, so the brand did not have to explain itself in each country.
3. Hot Wheels Legends Tour: fans design the product
The Hot Wheels Legends Tour asks fans to enter custom-built cars, and the winning build becomes a Hot Wheels die-cast toy. The 2020 winner, a 1970 Pontiac Trans Am built by Riley Stair, was chosen from thousands of entries across 14 stops in Europe, Latin America, Asia and North America, according to a Mattel release on Business Wire.
Ted Wu, Mattel's global head of design for vehicles, said the 2020 tour, which went virtual, engaged more than 10 million fans around the world. A 2023 Mattel release said more than 10,000 cars were entered the year before, and a 2025 release said the tour reached 16 countries. In 2022 Toybook reported that Hot Wheels used the finale to announce its first adult-facing campaign, "Where Legends are Made."
Why it works: Fans become the designers, so the contest produces content, entries and a product with a built-in audience.
4. Hot Wheels "For Real": a world-record stunt
The 2012 campaign "Hot Wheels For Real," created with the agency Mistress, won a Silver Lion at Cannes. According to the Cannes Lions entry, the average 8-year-old boy in the United States owns 45 Hot Wheels cars, so growth had to come from turning the toy into an entertainment brand. Teaser content showed a secret driver training for a record jump based on a real-life version of a Hot Wheels toy.
The jump happened live at the Indianapolis 500, where Hot Wheels and its "Yellow Driver" broke the world record. The entry says the campaign created a team of real stunt drivers, attracted new licensed brand partnerships, inspired a new product range and helped attract one of the world's leading film studios.
Why it works: A real stunt gave a toy brand a news event, and the event supported licensing and product plans that followed.
5. LEGO Education "Hannah Rebuilds the World": a story for teachers
LEGO Education, which says it has focused on learning for more than 40 years, followed the Rebuild the World idea with a character named Hannah. According to Cannes Lions entries from the agency DOREMUS, Hannah's origin story launched in 2020 as part of the broader global campaign. The films aim to build an emotional connection to learning and show the power every child has to rebuild the world.
The entries do not list sales figures, so this case is included for its approach, not a proven result. It shows how a toy brand can extend one global idea into a specific audience, here teachers and students, without starting a new campaign.
Why it works: The film series reused the parent campaign's idea for a narrower audience that had its own concerns after several hard school years.
What do the best toy campaigns have in common?
Each of the five campaigns gave an audience something to join, whether a film, a contest, a stunt or a shared phrase. None relied on a product demo alone.
| Approach | Campaigns on this list | What the audience does |
|---|---|---|
| Join a cultural event | Barbie | Buys a partner product or sees the film |
| Share a brand idea | LEGO Rebuild the World, Hannah | Watches, repeats and applies the phrase |
| Build the product | Hot Wheels Legends Tour | Enters a car and follows the finale |
| Watch a stunt | Hot Wheels For Real | Follows the record attempt |
The risk is measurement. Only two of the five published an audience or revenue number, and the Barbie figures combine a film and a toy brand, so no one can credit them to marketing alone. A brand should ask for the measurement method before copying a number.
How can toy brands copy these campaigns?
Toy brands can copy these campaigns by choosing one mechanism, such as a partner program, a fan contest or a stunt, and tying it to a product or an audience goal.
- Pick a partner type that adds licensing income, as Mattel did with flat fees and sales shares on Barbie.
- Write one phrase the brand can own in every country, as LEGO did with Rebuild the World.
- Give fans a way to shape the product, as the Hot Wheels Legends Tour does with its winning die-cast.
- Stage one event that gives news outlets a clear record or first, as Hot Wheels did at the Indianapolis 500.
- Write down the baseline before launch, so any result can be stated as a change and not a total.
Where can you find more toy marketing guides?
Toy marketing overlaps with launch planning, education, influencers and inclusion, so several 5W guides sit close to this one. See the guides to PR strategies for launching toys and games, promoting educational toys through PR and influencer marketing in the toy industry.
For representation in toy lines, read the introduction to diversity in toy marketing. For broader results across industries, see the top 25 PR campaigns ranked by results, and for the practice behind toy launches, see 5W's toys and games PR practice.
Frequently asked questions
Which toy campaign reported the biggest result?
Barbie reported the biggest figure, about $1.4 billion at the global box office, according to Variety. That number covers the film, so it is not a measure of the marketing alone.
Which toy campaign is easiest for a smaller brand to copy?
The Hot Wheels Legends Tour is the easiest to adapt, because it asks fans to submit builds and rewards the best one with a place in the product line. It needs a clear judging process and a way to make the winning product.
Are the toy campaign results verified?
No. The figures come from company releases, awards entries and press reports. Treat each number as reported by the brand or the outlet, and note that two of the five campaigns published no sales figure.
Why does Hot Wheels appear twice on this list?
The 2012 Hot Wheels For Real stunt and the Hot Wheels Legends Tour are separate campaigns with different goals. The first moved the brand toward entertainment, and the second invites fans into product design.
Can a small toy brand run a partnership program like Barbie's?
A small brand can run a smaller version, with a few partners and clear terms for fees or sales shares. The Barbie program worked at scale because the film gave partners a shared event to build around.
