For a movie starring a rather unconventional protagonist, a by-the-book traditional marketing strategy is the last thing you need.
At least that’s the approach the marketing agencies behind 20th Century Fox chose to take with Marvel’s raunchy new superhero comedy, the R-rated “Deadpool.” Since the weeks before Christmas, Marvel superfans and plebeians alike have been inundated with every kind of marketing technique imaginable — from billboards and emojis to cheeky email newsletters and even fake Tinder profiles.
Fox’s viral marketing campaign has been an unprecedented success: “Deadpool” obliterated any and all competition over its four-day opening weekend, earning a record-breaking $150 million domestically at the box office. Smashing records for biggest R-rated opening weekend, biggest R-rated Friday, Saturday and Sunday and biggest 20th Century Fox debut ever, Marvel’s sassy, fourth-wall breaking superhero is clearly nothing to be messed with.
While initial reviews of the film have been generally positive, the real success of “Deadpool” can be attributed to its unconventional viral advertising. The marketing agencies behind the film deftly toed the line between cheeky and downright risqué, with everything from a Burt Reynolds-inspired fireplace pinup spread to a blatant TV rip-off of “The Bachelor.”
Despite the film’s R-rating, Fox’s marketing agencies catered to audiences of all ages, with an emoji-only billboard widely misread as “skullpoopl” (an ad featuring the word “skullpoopl” instead of “Deadpool” would soon follow). Speaking of emojis, a whole line of “Deadpool” emojis was released, featuring everything from blood splatters to unicorns.
In addition to a wealth of borderline-NSFW sexual innuendos, the “Deadpool” marketing campaign unabashedly trolled its audience: one ad capitalized on the film’s Valentine’s Day opening with a satirical billboard evocative of a Nicholas Sparks movie (complete with the tagline “True Love Never Dies”), while another advertised Deadpool’s “great ass” by having the character assume a Bettie Page-esque pinup pose.
In a market saturated with your standard superhero flicks, the film’s offbeat approach panders to the less traditional among us. If the numbers are anything to show for it, an unconventional, genuinely creative marketing campaign is the way to go for agencies looking to make an impression.
