“Deadpool & Wolverine” snagged the 2,200-restaurant Jack In the Box chain for a tie-in promotion, a rare alliance for an age-restricted R-rated film. No kiddie meals here! The R cinema classification requires accompanying parent or guardian for ages 17 and younger.
Walt Disney Studios will premiere “Deadpool & Wolverine” on July 26 domestically (U.S. and Canada). The sci-fi action-comedy melds two Marvel Comics-based movie franchises in a live-action film starring Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman.
The prerelease audience tracking is through-the-roof, suggesting $160-200 million in its opening domestic weekend. If so, Jack in the Box attached itself to a film rocket.
Giving the Disney theatrical release support, Jack in the Box has movie-themed menu items that are promoted in restaurants and also supported by a multimedia marketing campaign.
The restaurant chain’s marketing includes TV commercials on linear TV (including sports programs). Also, digital video on Twitch and YouTube. Further, there’s premium video streaming breaking at cinema release time: a Hulu splash-page takeover; a Disney+ blitz with Marvel content; and an LG TV home-screen roadblock. Roadblock placement involves placing the same message on multiple platforms for telecast at the same time.
Other marketing initiatives are social media (TikTok and X/Twitter), various digital display ads, streaming audio and search. Out-of-home ads will be on transportation trolley cars in San Diego during Comic-Con, which starts July 25, coinciding with the movie premiere.
For its part, Disney bought a pricey Super Bowl TV commercial for “Deadpool & Wolverine” in February.
For Jack in the Box, the target demographic is the ages 17 and older fan of the wise-cracking Deadpool character known for absurdist and self-referencing humor. That would be audiences making restaurant runs because of the midnight munchies, college hipsters and pop-culture aficionados.
The “Deadpool” movie character (Reynolds) is a Mexican food fan, so participating restaurants add Mini Chimi Bang Bangs from July 15 to Sept. 15. Says a Jack in the Box press release, “The Mini Chimis also come in limited-edition packaging inspired by ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ and are available in both Classic and Sauced & Loaded to satisfy all cravings at an incredible value.”
The press release continues: “In addition to celebratory items on the menu, Jack in the Box is also offering deals on the big screen. In honor of the ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ theatrical release, Jack Pack members will earn a $5 Fandango credit when they spend $20 or more ordering online or in the app. Fans can also get the Spicy Chicken Strips and Waffle Sticks in special packaging inspired by ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’, since great things come in unexpected combinations.”
There are also some limited-edition giveaway tchotchkes that will be passed out early in the campaign.
Though “Deadpool & Wolverine” has a limited audience with its R-classification, Reynolds and Disney have been masters of stoking prerelease fan interest with publicity announcements and dribbling out content. For example, there was a leak of on-set content, which ostensibly was unauthorized but which Reynolds elevated with a public plea to not ruin the movie surprise.
Actors are not obligated to lend their celebrity to their employers’ promotional partners, under industry labor contracts (though actors can agree after hiring, and can demand extra pay). But superhero movies like “Deadpool & Wolverine” make talent integration with promotions simple because actors are in costume and so it’s their movie character integrating.
“A frequent sticking point In tie-in promotions is whether star actors will allow use of their likenesses, which cement the connection in the public’s mind between consumer goods and a movie,” says the third edition of “Marketing to Moviegoers.” Besides superhero movies, animated films are also easy to work into promotions because the voice-actors are not seen.
Jack in the Box has its 2,200 restaurants clustered in 22 states in the Western U.S. and includes another 600 Del Taco restaurants.
The chain hasn’t been active recently in movies. But earlier this year connected with west-coast music legend Ice Cube for the Cube Munchie Meal as part of a larger promotion.
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