Last summer Oppenheimer was breaking ALL sorts of records.
$953M at the box office, making it the second highest EVER grossing R-rated movie behind Joker ($1.07B).
It was an iconic movie, paired with an iconic campaign to bring the film to market.
But, THIS SUMMER there’s a movie breaking ALL of Oppenheimer’s short-lived records and primed to knock off Joker for the highest grossing R-rated movie IN HISTORY.
And that movie is Deadpool & Wolverine.
The genius behind it all? The digital Marketing agency, Maximum Effort.
The brains behind Maximum Effort? Ryan Reynolds.
Over the course of the last 6 months Deadpool & Wolverine has gone through a campaign that rivals that of what we saw for Barbie last summer and today’s email is a breakdown of their brightest chess moves for the movie launch.
The problem: Marvel was struggling in recent box offices largely due to their inability to tap into Gen Z audiences. The future of the Marvel universe was honestly up for debate…until Deadpool & Wolverine.
The solution: Reach the fragmented Gen Z audience through hyper-viral content to get their butts in seats.
Move 1️⃣: The red and yellow suited superheroes partnered with an unlikely brand.
Now that you see it, you CAN’T unsee it. This was a genius partnership on both fronts. Heinz was able to place themselves squarely in the middle of the cultural conversation, while Deadpool & Wolverine was able to create a viral moment while also giving a sneak peak into the action of the film.
The results: 100M views across IG and TikTok.
Move 2️⃣: Deadpool and Wolverine appeared in a highly unsuspecting music video for popular K-Pop band, Stray Kids.
The collab was woven seamlessly into the music video, will live on and stay top of mind for fans for however long they’re streaming “Chk Chk Boom”, and was a stroke of genius for Deadpool & Wolverine being able to build buzz internationally.
They didn’t solely insert themselves into the cultural conversations happening in the U.S., they saw the international box office as an opportunity and they CAPITALIZED ON IT.
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The results: 72M views on YouTube and an international conversation generating 10s of thousands of fan videos and millions of views on TikTok (as you can see in the screenshot above).
Move 3️⃣: Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman podcast tour.
Cue the international appeal once again…
Ryan and Hugh joined one of the most popular UK podcasts, Chicken Shop Date with Amelia Dimoldenberg. All of the juicy questions the biggest fans want to know, the witty humor of Ryan Reynolds, and the brotherly rivalry between the 2 superheroes, this interview had it all.
Next Ryan and Hugh hopped on the other side of the table of Sean Evans for Hot Ones.
One of the most popular podcasts and celebrity shows in the world, Ryan and Hugh took the challenge to eat the hottest wings on the planet.
A common theme with all of their moves in this campaign is LEADING WITH ENTERTAINMENT. Hot One’s was the perfect balance of a large platform, interview-style to give a cool behind the scenes look into the minds of the makers of the movie, and the third (and most important element) of shock virality.
Then Ryan and Hugh joined Gordon Ramsay on a cooking show…
The loudest chef in the world cooking with Ryan and Hugh? Count me in.
This was another partnership THAT JUST MADE SENSE. None of these partnerships smelled of an ad or a promo for the movie, they all leaned on entertainment and a witty style of humor that enabled Marvel to sell the movie without it feeling like they were selling the movie.
And it’s all an exemplar (BIG WORD LOL) case for the influence podcasts have on being able to introduce your brand to a new audience and turning viewer attention into intention.
The results: 50M+ views across all 3 podcasts and accompanying short form content.
But it didn’t stop there, a highly suggestive popcorn bucket (which piggybacked off of a viral moment from Dune 2 earlier this year) broke the internet to the tune of 50M views.
A hilariously simple and witty story post from Ryan Reynolds’ children’s godmother, Taylor Swift, promoting the new movie also broke the internet. Her 284M followers were subjected to the typical Deadpool banter that was flawlessly cohesive throughout all brand touchpoints and it CRUSHED.
Ryan and Hugh also did a lie detector test with Vanity Fair which raked in another 20M+ views across all short and long form content.
But by far the most unique lever the movie franchise pulled was Ryan Reynolds personal social accounts. His Instagram and TikTok featured an onslaught of native talking-head style videos that TikTok became wildly popular for.
And Ryan REGULARLY had videos crossing the 10M+ views threshold. REGULARLY. Those are some insane numbers.
Alone Ryan’s personal accounts garnered 350M+ views for the movie, a perfect example of one of my hills to die on as a Marketer…people >>> institutions.
Lesson: EVERY brand activation, partnership, and touchpoint was incredibly on brand. Everything felt native, no partnership felt forced, and most importantly, Ryan and Hugh Jackman sold Deadpool & Wolverine through their off-the-wall content that spread on the timeline like wildfire.
Winning over Gen Z, this movie created a blueprint for blockbuster movies ahead of them to follow, and to everyone out there who says likes don’t equal cash, this campaign might be a case against that.
