If I could sum up the whole marketing campaign of the new Marvel film "Deadpool" in one word, it would be "perfection." I am living for the advertisements for this movie. But, I'm not the only one. Ryan Reynolds is eating it up as well. His entire Facebook feed for the past few months is full of different "Deadpool" posters. Marvel is really not holding back on this one. "Deadpool" is the first one of many Marvel/DC movies coming out this year. The marketing team for the film is making an impression to remember.
The ads for the film started out semi-normal, with a commercial spot during "The Bachelor" (which was still unusual). But, they just keep getting stranger and stranger as new ones are released.
The movie is a Marvel film. But, looking at some of the advertisements, you wouldn't know that.
The marketing strategy for the film is much different from other superhero movies that have been released in the past. This could be because Deadpool is often considered to be an "anti-hero." The ad team for this film is taking a different approach to make this superhero film stand out from all of the others. They are taking advantage of the release date of the film, and advertising the film in many different ways based on events that are happening.
One of the most ridiculous ways the film is being marketed is towards an audience who enjoys a good chick flick. The film is being released on Valentine's weekend, but if you know anything about "Deadpool," it's anything but your typical romantic comedy. You would never know that by looking at one of the posters.
I will admit, this is a good strategy. If this was the only ad someone saw for the film, they would probably go see it and expect to see a nice romantic film. The viewer would be disappointed, but it would be a ticket sale. This is also the worst part of the "rom-com" ads. People who know the "Deadpool" comics are using this ad to convince their girlfriends, who would never willingly sit down and watch it, to go see the movie. This wouldn't be so bad if they were telling them the real context of the film, but they're being very vague and wording their synopsis in a way that will pull on their partners' emotions.
I do not condone doing this to your girlfriend.
The marketing team is also taking advantage of the fact that this year is an election year. Politicians are taking their campaigns to social media at the same time as the promotions for "Deadpool" are happening. So, it only makes sense that they would make some posters about Deadpool running for president!
I'd rather vote for Deadpool than any of our current candidates.
"Deadpool's" marketing team is also taking advantage of its R-rating in some of the ads. Last Monday, they posted this venn diagram to their Facebook that really made some people mad. But, they're playing it off as two DVD's colored pink. Yeah, sure.
Of course, they had to make a penis joke in one of the ads.
Based on all of the different ads, the "Deadpool" marketing team seems to be the best in the world. But, not all of these ads are their idea. Part of the advertising is a result of a dare by Ryan Reynolds. It, apparently, was his idea to create a billboard just using Emojis.
"I remember saying to Fox marketing, 'You don't have the balls to put that up as a billboard.' Evidently... they have a very crowded sack. #deadpool #💀💩L"
- Ryan Reynolds, January 13, 2016.
This billboard was confusing to some people. They understood it as "Skull-Poop-L" rather than "Deadpool." The marketing team took advantage of this misunderstanding, as well.
They replaced the "Deadpool" in one of the previous ads with "Skullpoop." This only makes sense if you've seen the Emoji billboard. Otherwise, you just think, "What the hell is even going on with this movie!?" Well, you probably think this even if you have seen the other ads.
The marketing team has pulled a lot of different tricks to produce a successful outcome. It will be interesting to see how this movie does at the box office this weekend. It definitely stands out more than the other films. I can't even tell you the name of another movie that's coming out this weekend.
There are a lot of superhero movies coming out this year, but none of them will live up to "Deadpool," simply based on advertising. The marketing team for this film deserves an award.
