Last year saw the resurgence of diss tracks, dominating social media and pop culture, notably with Kendrick vs. Drake. Meanwhile, a quieter trend emerged—gift cards were given as gifts more than ever before. However, kids grew frustrated with the lack of joy in receiving them, citing the absence of instant gratification. To challenge gift cards in a way both culture and parents would notice, MGA + Virtue created a diss track, turning it into a modern holiday rap carol. Jumping on a new emerging talent just as he was becoming popular, viral child-star sensation (The Rizzler) dropped the track, taking aim at the uninspired nature of gift cards, accompanied by a spontaneous online launch and a high-energy music video on YouTube. Featuring MGA toys throughout, the video was fully shoppable, allowing viewers to click and purchase products directly. The end result was a viral music sensation that kids and adults were singing all winter long.
MGA Leads: Josh Hackbarth, Cassandra Scholnick, Ashlee Meese, Nicole Smith
Agency partners: Virtue World Wide
Heather McTavish, Will Stallmeyer, Mauricio Santos, Danielle Russo, Rachel Patel
.
Total Video Views: Over 7M views across YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok on MGA and The Rizzler’s channels.
- YouTube Highlights:
- Views: 3.3M+, with over 116,000 hours viewed
- Strong engagement rates, with Day 1 at 8.24% and Day 7 at 4.72% and over 4MM Engagements
- Notable keyword targeting and audience alignment.
- 10,000 Shares
Social Media Highlights:
Content seeded across ItzTheRizzler, MGA Entertainment, Bratz, Miniverse, Little Tikes, L.O.L. Surprise!, Rainbow High, Yummiland, BABYborn, Finders Creepers, and GrossMos! Social channels generated:
o 4M Organic Video Views
o 290K Organic Engagements
o The initial IG post of the music video had a highly rare Shares-to-Likes ratio of 1.3:1 (There are typically 3-10x more Likes than Shares)
· Additional TikTok posts by creators like Daddyronaldo and eric.justice.befumo
contributed to overall virality.
· This activation resulted in a 15% MOM increase in Follower Growth on the MGA Entertainment Socials
· Conversation on Social across X, YT, Reddit, and IG not on our owned and operated channels generated 3.4M additional impressions that were 81% positive.
Earned Media and Public Relations Impact
- Total advertising value equivalency (AVE): $1.15M for the campaign.
- Actively pitched 412 media contacts by MGA Comms and 90+ additional contacts by DDA including pre video drop and post.
- Press Release distributed in newswire:
- Garnered 545.7M impressions across 617 placements, including AP News and Yahoo! Finance.
- Key Media Hits (12 unique):
- Forbes (12/23): "Toy Company’s ‘No Gift Cards’ Campaign Goes Viral"
- Access Hollywood (12/20): Coverage on multiple platforms, including:
- Instagram Plays: 208,900 | TikTok Plays: 1,142 | YouTube Views: 4.7K
- NBC Online: "The Rizzler Paints Santa Claus Doing The Rizz Face"
- UVM: 9.35M | AVE: $86,497.74
- Fox Business (Claman Countdown 12/20): Social media sensation ‘The Rizzler’ on what kids want for the holidays
- Additional coverage from AdAge, Trend Hunter, The Toy Book, and Betches contributed incremental 63.8M impressions.
CREATIVE DIRECTION
IMAGINATION TRAVELS WITH BARBIEAdult-targeted Paid Media Campaign
OBJECTIVE: Show parents that buying Barbie travel themed toys is perfect for summertime storytelling fun, when travel is top of mind.
THE CAMPAIGN: Along with the fun of travel comes the chaos. Catching flights, calling cars, waiting, rushing, stopping, going - add kids to the mix and stress levels go off the chart. Help ease the emotional load with Barbie! She goes where you go and keeps your kids happy and entertained each step of the way. Execution: hyperreal poptimistic scenes of real world scenarios. Each scene is designed to transport the viewer into a punchy, colorful world where “stressful” situations become humorous, drenched in Barbie pop-timism.
Creative Direction: Cassandra Scholnick
Account Manager: Lisa Baca
Copywriter: Audrey Marra
Director: Heather Kasprzak
Producer: Natalie Masciale
DP: Shan Liljestrand
Editor: Gary Chan
Photographer: Rafael Ortega
Camera Assist: Brett Ziegler, Ed Cass
1st AC: Jen Pawlowski
2nd AC: John Davis
Gaffer: Jose Ibarra
Key Grip: Sal Mousavi
Best Boy Grip: CJ Colace
Best Boy Electric: Vince Valentin
Best Boy Grip: Zach Domingo
Product Stylist: Tula Nowlan
Production Designer: Sean Genrich
Set Builder: Dustin Ruegger
Set Dresser: Kyle Baker
Sound Mixer: Johnny Karlsson
Stage Manager: JJ Hommel
HMU: Autumn Sanders
Wardrobe: Hannah Anderson
Set PA’s: Aaron Lorick, Saris Ahmed
CREATIVE DIRECTION
MINI BARBIELANDAdult-targeted Paid Media Campaign
OBJECTIVE: Show audiences that Barbie has a new form factor, allowing for a whole new world of storytelling possibilities at a smaller scale! Showcase extended play possibilities and world-building value of the line through its small-scale and cute collectibles.
THE CAMPAIGN: Create your own Barbieland wherever you are! In this campaign, we demonstrated the limitless ways kids can create new worlds with Mini Barbieland. Mom’s toiletries on the counter? The perfect scene for fashion show. A record player doubles as an excellent stage for an epic concert. Capitalizing on the accessibility and small scale, we showcased how these products can create magic in everyday scenarios - utilizing tiny dioramas created with Barbie Miniland products as well real household items to demonstrate the authentic ways kids play.
Mattel Creative Leads: Cassandra Scholnick, Zlatan Kusnoor
Social Strategy: Amanda Szlasny, Tiana Kupinski, Lucas Allen, Yasmin Khamasse
Account Manager: Taylor Schatan
Copywriter: Audrey Marra
Director: Heather Kasprzak
Producer: Natalie Masciale
DP: Shan Liljestrand
1st AC: Jen Pawlowski
Editor: Gary Chan
Photographer: Jason Tidwell
Digi Tech: Brett Ziegler
Gaffer: Jose Ibarra
Grip: Sal Mousavi
Swing: Hanuel Kim
Product Stylist: Tula Nowlan
Set Stylist: Krystal Debord
Art Director, Miniatures: Raphaelle Gamanho
Set Assists: Jo Siri, Natasha Parbhu
HMU: Judy Haft
Wardrobe: Robin Lebowe
Set PA’s: Aaron Lorick, Saris Ahmedm
CREATIVE DIRECTION
2023 HOLIDAY BARBIECreative campaign supporting the launch and promotion of the 2023 Holiday Barbie and the 35th Anniversary of the iconic Holiday Doll.
Deployed across social platforms domestically/globally and as a TVC in European markets.
My role: spearheaded creative concept development and strategy, pre-production planning, casting, creative and storyboard development, on-set creative direction for photo and video, post-production creative direction for editing, photography, graphics and creative asset deployment.
Mattel Creative Leads: Cassandra Scholnick, Zlatan Kusnoor
Social Strategy: Amanda Szlasny, Tiana Kupinski, Lucas Allen, Yasmin Khamasse
Account Manager: Lisa Baca
Copywriter: Audrey Marra
Director: Heather Kasprzak
Producer: Natalie Masciale
Stop Motion Animator: Dillon Markey
Composer: Kaz Gamble
DP: Symeon Platts
1st AP: Jen Pawlowski
Editor: Orrin Anderson
Photographer: Brett Ziegler
Digi Tech: Brandon Kalpin
Gaffer: Kevin Willing
Grip: Sal Mousavi
Swing: Sal Mousavi
Lead Product Stylist: Rachel Ritter
Set Stylist: Vic Ainza
Set Assists: Kelly Silverman
HMU: Autum Sanders
Wardrobe: Hannah Anderson
Set PA’s: Scott Gabelein, Reyhan Almazarm
CREATIVE LEAD
BARBIETOKMattel Creative/Strategy Team: Cassandra Scholnick, Zlatan Kusnoor, Amanda Szalasny, Tiana Kupinksi, Lucas Allen, Yasmin Khamsse
Writers: Jonah Lipton, Nick Tiffany, Olivia DeLaurentis
Director: Bill Watterson
Producer: Nikit Doshi
Prod. Manager: Reece Potter
Creative Associate: Nancy Sanchez
Editor: Drew Boylan
DP: Ryan Kerr/Aaron Wise
Gaffer: David ‘Bootz’ Liebman
Gaffer: Jose Ibarra
Art Director: Raphaelle Gamanho
Set Dresser: Annuari Cantre/Marisa Gehrig
Lead Stylist: Rachel Ritter
Jr Stylist:Sanda Lozancic
Stop Motion Animator: Dillon Markey
Pupeteer: Christine Papelexis
Rig Removal: Andy Jolliff