Viral marketing stunts made ‘Deadpool’ a $1bn hit, says Disney exec

From cameos in K-pop videos to cooking chimichangas with celebrity chefs, movie stars like Ryan Reynolds are trying ever-more unorthodox stunts to reach fragmented Gen-Z audiences, according to Disney’s marketing chief.

The giant Hollywood studio is enjoying a blockbuster summer, with irreverent superhero movie “Deadpool & Wolverine” becoming its latest film set to pass $1 billion at the global box office this weekend.

Speaking at Disney’s D23 fan convention Saturday, chief brand officer Asad Ayaz attributed a large part of that breakaway success to stars Reynolds and Hugh Jackman pushing the boundaries of traditional marketing.

The A-listers appeared in character for the “Chk Chk Book” music video with Korean pop sensation Stray Kids, and joined a YouTube cooking competition with Gordon Ramsay and his 22-year-old daughter.

They also took their world tour to a European Championship soccer match in Germany, a London chicken shop (for a popular online comedy sketch series), and got drenched at a water balloon festival.

“We were very lucky and fortunate to have talent… who are willing to do things that sometimes actors don’t want to do, like do things in character,” Ayaz told AFP.

Gen Z, who are roughly aged 12-27, have been particularly difficult for Hollywood and movie theaters to reach in recent years, setting off alarm bells in the industry.

But unusual stunts “cut through” to young viewers who pay more attention to their phones, social media, YouTube influencers and commercials on video games than traditional TV ads or movie trailers, said Ayaz.

Much of the focus is on generating off-the-wall content that spreads rapidly online.

A highly suggestive popcorn bucket for the film, supposedly “designed” by Reynolds’ innuendo-loving Deadpool character, was intended to — and succeeded in — going viral globally.

Reynolds and Jackman also filmed a pre-movie message warning theater-goers to switch off their cell phones — in character as their wise-cracking superhero characters.

“Turn your phone to silent,” growls Jackman’s aggressive Wolverine, in an expletive-laden threat to camera, which has been watched hundreds of thousands of times on YouTube.

“That was an example of us producing unique content with Ryan and Hugh… in full costume,” said Ayaz.

– Meme-ready marketing –

“Deadpool and Wolverine” was particularly suited to the gonzo approach because the character of Deadpool repeatedly speaks directly to audiences during the film.

Reynolds’ potty-mouthed hero frequently pokes fun at parent company Disney, and even makes jokes about “saving” the Marvel superhero franchise, which has endured a relatively lackluster few years.

But the outside-the-box approach is becoming more widespread.

Last year, rival studio Warner built a real-life “Malibu DreamHouse” to promote “Barbie,” which went viral after it was listed for rent on Airbnb.

Another recent big Disney hit, “Inside Out 2,” deals with issues such as anxiety and depression, which are themes frequently discussed by Gen Z online.

Analysts have warned that many widely shared movie memes feature pirated footage, or clips illegally filmed by audience members in theaters.

But Disney made custom clips and digital toolkits for “Inside Out 2” available to TikTok and YouTube creators, who rapidly spread memes about the film, said Ayaz.

“This is an audience that is heavily on their devices. Their consumption of media is very different” to older generations, he said.

“Making sure that we are on the platforms that Gen Z spends the most amount of time” on is key, Ayaz added.