No Rest for the Wicked (or Its Marketing Team)
If you haven’t heard about Wicked by now, I’d be very surprised. The movie is set to release this Friday, November 22, but it’s been a trending topic on social media for months now. Its popularity may be partly organic, with its star-studded cast bound to bring in some level of fans already, but its extensive marketing campaign has undeniably been a contributing factor. Visibility is one of the best ways to raise awareness, but repetition is how you become memorable, and Wicked’s marketing team took that to heart.
Its award-winning cast members include Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, and Jonathan Bailey, among other major names in the entertainment industry. Each is well-established with large fanbases of their own, so it’s no surprise their reputations are being used to their advantage when promoting the movie. Their global Journey Through Oz tour includes visits to Sydney, Los Angeles, Mexico City, New York, and London. The cast has also appeared in many talk shows and cable network interviews. They’ve made notable appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, The Kelly Clarkson Show, The Today Show, Late Night with Seth Meyers, The View, Saturday Night Live, and more.
They’ve also appeared in YouTube videos from popular channels and media outlets such as Vogue Australia, Entertainment Tonight, IMDb, and Fandango. They also participated in Vanity Fair’s famous lie detector test series as well as First We Feast’s iconic Hot Ones interview series. Members of the movie’s crew and production teams have also been interviewed, including costume designer Paul Tazewell’s video with InStyle, where he breaks down Grande and Erivo’s dresses. The movie’s own YouTube channel has also garnered a following since its first post 6 months ago, and it currently stands at a count of 56.2K subscribers. The 69 videos currently posted are all less than 5 minutes long and consist of television spots, partnership ads, behind-the-scenes content, and promotional teasers.
As for partnerships and advertising spots, the Wicked campaign has been full of them. The movie and its main themes have been featured in spots for the Paris Olympics, Lexus, Xfinity, and more. It also collaborated with WNBA player Angel Reese to create a promotional video that appeals to viewers’ aspirations.
One common theme found in its various collaborations is the inclusion of green and pink colors. Much like the pink from Barbie and the green from Charli XCX’s BRAT, Wicked uses its signature color combination to extend itself past just its name. The movie formed a strong enough connection for consumers to see the two colors and immediately think of the brand. The film partnered with an astounding number of companies to create themed products. The film collaborated with Starbucks to create special drinks based on the two main characters, Glinda and Elphaba, along with other merchandise and cups with special designs. Vera Bradley’s partnership included multiple different styles of bags with various green and pink patterns. ALDO’s partnership involved 32 different items, including heels, sneakers, purses, hair accessories, jewelry, and more.
Target also had a set of partnerships with Wicked and other brands, ensuring some products could only be sold at its stores and on its website. This includes Stanley’s exclusive Glinda and Elphaba tumblers, OPI’s nail polish collection, Beekman 1802’s bath and body products, and many more. In addition, Target released its own line of merchandise with the film, from clothing and accessories to toys and decor. In total, the retailer is currently offering 296 Wicked-related products. Target also released a commercial ad that featured Erivo singing Elphaba’s classic riff from “Defying Gravity,” which quickly turned into a meme and has since gone viral on social media.
Other collaborations also included video promotions along with product offerings. Roblox collaborated to make a game called “Ozdust Ball” on the platform, and Wicked’s YouTube channel released a promotional video featuring clips of the game’s content. LEGO released a line of themed sets along with a “Brickified” version of the movie’s trailer. Grande’s cosmetics company r.e.m. beauty also released a collection of makeup products, apparel, and accessories. The brand’s YouTube channel released a video of the star sampling the various items to promote the collection, which is available at Ulta and Target.
Grande also recently became a Global Brand Ambassador for Swarovski. Although the announcement video did not mention Wicked, the convenient timing and clear use of green and pink colors seem like an obvious nod to the film.
Now, while most of their partnerships have been positively received, it wouldn’t be fair to discuss all of the campaign’s success without mentioning one of its major mishaps. Mattel released a line of dolls based on the film’s characters, which were available at many major retailers. The packaging included photos of the main characters, signature green and pink patterns, and other related branding. It also included a link on the back for consumers to visit to learn more. The URL, however, did not lead to the movie’s website. Instead, an error in the packaging led consumers to an adult film website. The packaging’s mistake went viral on social media as an increasing number of users discovered the error and posted about it. The dolls have since been removed from both Target and Walmart’s stores and websites, and the listing on Amazon has been taken down as of November 11. Mattel confirmed the error in a statement to TODAY.com, claiming to be “taking immediate action” and advising parents to discard the packaging. However, the dolls are still in circulation on third-party websites like eBay. While they usually are priced between $20 and $40, they are now going for hundreds of dollars as sellers attempt to profit off of the situation.
Overall, the wide-reaching campaign seems to be relatively successful. The movie’s YouTube channel alone has reached over 25.5 million views across its videos, its Instagram account has over 575K followers, its TikTok account has over 460K followers, and its commercial spots likely reached thousands of consumers. The sheer number of partnerships in numerous business sectors was also an excellent strategy to reach as many different audiences as possible. The amount is so large that it seems almost impossible to make a completely exhaustive list of every single one. The campaign must have been extremely expensive; it’s hard to even imagine what the marketing team’s budget must have been. Based on recent films with similar ad spending and media presence, the large risk may eventually reap large rewards. However, the recent doll packaging scandal could diminish some of the movie’s performance. Only time will tell of the movie’s real success at the box office, and we will find out soon enough!
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