"Money money money money, money!"
– O'Jays
Black Widow to the left of me, Iron Man to the right. For real, most days it feels like I can't go anywhere without running into one of Marvel's Avengers. If I go to the local convenience store, they're striking a pose on the biggest cup at the Slurpee machine. When I need to get gas, I see trailers for their new movie on the little monitor above the pump. They're everywhere, my friends, and that's because Marvel is in the process of launching their biggest ad campaign ever, with media materials for the upcoming superhero blockbuster estimated upward of $150 million smackers! Several of the planned materials will be rolled out over the course of the next two weeks, and will run considerably past the film's April 27 launch.
In accordance with the campaign, seven partners will present TV spots either inspired by or featuring Earth's Mightiest Heroes. According to Deadline, Infinity's Coca-Cola partnership is worth $40 million all by itself. Now while that might sound like couch change for someone like Tony Stark, I'd like to remind everyone that the entire ad campaign for GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 cost an estimated $80 million. That means that just one aspect of this advertisement onslaught is set to cost half of the promotional budget for Spidey's big return to the silver screen.
“Some of these partners are new to the family and some have been friends of the studio for years,” remarked Mindy Hamilton, Marvel’s SVP Global Partnerships & Marketing. “What they all share, though, is a commitment to innovate in their industries and excel at the way they craft their stories. We couldn’t be more excited about collaborating with them in preparation for this historic release.”
Other brands that are poised to promote AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR in a major way include Ziploc, Go-GURT, Yoplait, Synchrony Bank, American Airlines and Stand Up To Cancer. Furthermore, companies the likes of Duracell, Unilever, Quaker, Chevron, and Samsung will each host a smaller Infinity-inspired blitz by way of their own products and outlets.
Oh, but did you think that was all? Pshaw! Marvel's titanic campaign will also see a partnership with the INFINITI car company, as their INFINITI QX50 is set to appear in the film itself. A commercial featuring the vehicle is also expected to drop, and is said to have something of a twist ending. I'm not entirely sure what that means, though I'm sure it won't be long before we find out. Another brand that's pickin' up what the Avengers in puttin' down is Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, which will release Infinity-inspired novelty cans that fans can collect.
Meanwhile, Ziplock will be selling a variety of custom-designed Infinity War images on boxes belonging to their plastic storage line, the same can be said of Go-GURT and Yoplait. The cool thing about the yogurt line is that the cups will give customers the chance to win movie tickets to Marvel's latest feature.
Without a doubt, my favorite contributor to Marvel's massive ad campaign is the Stand Up For Cancer initiative. Together with American Airlines, Stand Up To Cancer will launch a national effort in the form of a PSA starring Scarlett Johansson and Chris Hemsworth making a powerful call-to-action.
“This movie is a celebration that we’ve been building toward for the past 10 years,” added Hamilton. “We feel fortunate to have partnered with brands who share that excitement, and it’s been an incredibly rewarding experience to see their creative visions come to life.”
To see a visual representation of Marvel dreaming about all the money they're bound to rake in with the release of AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR, please click here.
Be sure to gird your wallets when Thanos and his Black Order come to town on April 27th.