My Little Pony had bold ambitions to grow beyond small dolls and compete in the much larger but highly competitive fashion doll category, against brands like the mighty Barbie. To be successful, we needed to appeal to older 6 to 10 year old girls, who typically reject younger girls’ brands, by gaining social credibility. Through ethnographic research we realized a simple but powerful insight: Dance moves are a powerful form of social currency for girls: Knowing the moves to popular dances means they have something to perform and pass on to their friends.

With this, we choreographed the iconic ‘Equestria Girls Stomp’ routine for girls to learn, perform and share with friends. We launched the dance on YouTube with a catchy music video accompanied with a dance tutorial video, as well as a mini online dancing game. The dance video has now been viewed over 70 million times and the tutorial video 35 million times. Even more impressively, girls have uploaded hundreds of videos of themselves performing the routine together. As a result, My Little Pony Equestria Girls was catapulted to the number 1 selling doll during the critical Christmas sales period.