How to ACTUALLY Market your Movie...

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It is a movie about what it means to pursue your dreams relentlessly and to dream big even when no one else believes in you. It became more than just a movie, but a movement. And his press tour lived up to that mantra. A blimp, the top of the Vegas sphere, exclusive fashion drops of some of the greatest people in their field. He treated this movie like an album roller. In fact, he literally did a music video with the rapper as the kid. The marketing of this movie itself became a symbol that matched the greatness and this idea of dreaming big that the film embodies. And this wasn't just virality, but drove real conversions. Marty Supreme broke the record for A24's largest box office in history and has become an entire cultural phenomenon. So how exactly did they do this? What was so different about this press tour compared to all the other movies? Well, that is exactly the question we set out to solve here today. We're going to analyze it all step by step from the jackets, the blimp, the music video, everything to determine exactly why this was so successful and how you can repeat these strategies in your own creative work. So with that, welcome back to Nicky and I, I am your host, Nicky Riordan, very excited to be talking to you all about Marty Supreme today. I have not been this interested in the sort of like marketing and rollout of a movie in a long, long time. Um, I woke up so excited this morning, like do this video. Um, I haven't seen a lot of people talk about it. I have some interesting thoughts about like the film itself that I'll share at the end, but I also really, really want to talk about sort of like, actually, I think this press tour will redefine what press tour is for movies. Like the way Timothy has gone for it in a way that really no other actor does is so impressive to me. Um, and I want to break down exactly why, because I think a lot of these things are principles. And things that we've talked about on this channel before, um, and, and all of it, there's so much of it that was so interesting. So with that, don't forget to subscribe. Don't forget to follow the show on Spotify. Please, please, please. We, it is the number one thing you can do to support the show. Um, or follow on Apple music, wherever you listen, wherever you listen to stuff on your car ride to work at the gym, you can have more wonderful, amazing Nicky and I waiting for you. Before I dive into the specifics, there's a very interesting fact that I think explains a lot. Did you know that the creative director? For Marty Supreme is the same person who did the rollout for brat. His name is Aiden's Amiri. And you can make the argument that at this point, he is one of the greatest marketers of all time. Like I have never seen two campaigns in back-to-back years. Absolutely take over the internet the way these had. And when you think there's a lot of similarities between the two, both marketed around a bold, specific color using catchphrases like dream big or for brat bumping that I'm so Julia, these gorilla marketing pop-ups, like the the internet is this massive tool to reach like billion people and so many actors barely use it at all it's actually common for actors to like not even have an instagram account it's stupid like i'm sorry doing the bare minimum is dead i want to see you try i want to see you be creative i want to see you drop a freaking jacket for your movie like that's cool we like that make us feel a part of it if you want to impact culture you can't just like want people to spend money on you for the sake of doing it you have to you have to offer them something this this ethos this mission that they feel like they can embody themselves and be a part of and that is why these things worked so well it wasn't just about timothy it was about this idea of dreaming big and what it means to dream big is completely different to everyone and that is a beautiful thing number three i really want to talk about the blimp and the zoom meeting something i say is like great marketers don't do the marketing they let other people do the marketing for them and that was the genius of the marty supreme blimp where they got thousands upon thousands of free promo assets of people posting a picture of that blimp they use the zoom call as this tool to create hype and develop lore around this dream big marketing so when it actually happened it became this joke that everybody was in on so of course people wanted to post it which resulted in millions upon millions of free views were the promotion for this movie and it's very interesting this thing about experimental marketing now where the goal of doing something in real life is for it to become an instagram story like there is pretty much like you're always going to see the most peak return on investment when it's not just like people got to see this thing in person in that one city but become something worth posting on twitter posting on your story sending to your friend right like that's when again virality and culture gets impacted and that is why i think creating lore is so important things like the zoom call right like again literally zero dollars for that but a zoom call is free right like and it created so much hype and lore and inside jokes and memes that then permeated the entire rest of the campaign and you cannot skip that step if you want something to be meaningful to the audience you have to do something to create that meaning you can't just put a blimp out there and expect people to care as much they don't care people don't care about the good year blimp as much as they cared about the marty supreme blimp why he created lore and meaning behind it and that was the point of it again even the zoom call itself i thought was was so genius i thought it was hilarious that the title of it was the zoom call itself i thought it was so genius i thought it was like timothy underscore chalamet underscore like it was literally a video file and it's so clearly you know like i think everybody knew it was fake but in a way that was like funny and satirical and in on the bit i think it really tapped into this like social media manager type trend that's like always online or like the chronically online social media manager whatever those sorts of things like that's a very very big funny section of the internet and and i think it assistants versus agents type accounts on instagram you know what i mean like it leaned into that satire and now we get to the jackets because the marty supreme jacket was not just a clothing item but it was a symbol of greatness itself it was intentionally sent to people who were the biggest in their field tom brady frank ocean heck even bill nye the science guy right it was a symbol of what it meant to have a dream relentlessly pursue it and achieve it to be the best and be proud of that success and that was what made this film a success and i think it was a symbol of what was so viral why people want the jacket itself right it's not just a clothing item this is a clothing item the marty supreme jacket has a ethos it has a message it has something that it stands for and when he did all of this marketing and all of these pop-ups he treated it like a fashion line right like he created this exclusivity around the thing which made it so desirable it was dropped in limited cities you can't really order it online there's limited supply there was worn by some of the biggest people there's all these different colors right like by creating exclusivity around something you can manipulate the demand around that thing right you are intentionally reducing supply so that demand is more than supply so that people want it that creates the secondary resale market that creates discussion around it it is a very very smart tactic i also think very interesting no movie has ever been able to tap into merch the way that marty supreme has every album rollout ever has incredible merch right like look at look at things taylor swift taylor swift does like the cardigans or whatever right like artists have very very much figured out how to be this direct-to-consumer business still movies since the death of dvd have not cracked that at all it is one of the things that is killing the film industry the most and when i see the success of a movie like marty supreme or barbie or wicked like these theaters need to learn how to tap into that there should be a limited fashion drop for every movie like that i think that there should be these exclusive pop-ups and experiences right like the way louis vuitton markets a product that they spent 500 million dollars on movies spend that much all the time you know what i mean but they don't market them the same way they don't make them feel as exciting and exclusive with that too i think the ping-pong ball head guys were very very interesting i have a theory that the ping-pong ball head guys was actually pulling from squid game nobody has tried to tap into the marketing of squid game since it happened and i think it was one of the most biggest cultural phenomenon ever at the time was netflix most stream thing ever and remember halloween of that year when like everybody was either like the little squid game prisoner or they had the track suit right like that is tying a piece of merchandise to the film it is so genius marty supreme did that with the jacket also right he really really tapped into this this idea of like the security guards with the weird heads blah blah blah like that's what that was and nobody has tried to replicate these strategies of squid game um i also think those sorts of things make it a larger cultural phenomenon because now it's not just like people are going to talk about this in december but this coming october somebody can do it as a halloween costume right you've now extended the virality life cycle to two or ten months or at the very least it's going to get a second wave in that time and again when i'm talking about how movies have not cracked merchandise the same way a lot of artists have right every year for halloween you see someone who's a pop star no movie has has found that same i think level of clear identity the way that marty supreme has i also thought tyler the creator was perfect for this movie tyler the creator was the perfect choice for this movie because he is the embodiment of what it means to dream big like he got his big break in music after getting fired from his job at starbucks you can see these videos where he was talking about how he had nothing to lose and how he's going to send a letter to the world you can literally see those letters online to this day right like he is the embodiment of somebody hitting a low point in their life and that being this wake-up call to be like i have to pursue my artistic dream this is the thing that i feel i was meant to do and the thing that i want to achieve and that is why tyler was so incredible for this like him as a person and his story and his lore is so tied to the themes of the film and also he's an incredible actor too you know i know he said that this is like his first movie but if you watch any of his music videos the way he crafts an entire character for each album he's so deep into world building and visual identity that like this is bread and butter for him there's another day in the office truly um and i love that i love that casting choice not just as a big name having an artist in the movie but an artist whose actual story and identity were deeply relevant to the film itself another very interesting thing i have found about timothy chalamet and in the past two years in the way he's himself is he has really found a way to tap into like the straight boys like they love him now and when you think about timothy chalamet's origins you know he was doing call me by your name he was a gay character he was like the twink right then he was doing things like lady bird you know like these are very poetic films a lot of films tied to female directors or queer directors and you know he was this very like artsy theater kid that was the thing that he was doing and i think that's this presentation of him that he really loved these like deep stories and that is very true and recently in the past year or two i guess since dune probably was the big shift he's really really found ways to i think permeate just that bubble and i think permeate more mainstream culture and like a lot of men really really love and respect him now which i think is very very interesting it's a hard thing for an actor to do and i think he did that very very masterfully you know he's he went on podcasts like theo vaughn and sports podcasts and talks about why he loves basketball and there's all the pictures always pictures of him courtside right like it didn't feel inauthentic he's been huge into hip-hop culture and rap which i'll talk about later like it nothing about it felt fake i don't know you know what i mean like it just painted this other side of him like he wasn't just the guy in call me by your name anymore he's like talking about basketball like and i think that actually really really helped him with a lot of these movies you know if you think of the run of like dune to dune one to the bob dylan movie to marty supreme like there's there's a very dominant male audience in a lot of those things and i found it very fascinating that he was able to i still think maintains this image as somebody who really really cares about his craft and art and loves it but has also like sort of you know what i mean like the street boys love it i don't know it's just interesting it's something i thought about a lot and you know he did things like drewski the drewski talent show perfect example of doing something like that you know what i mean it's funny it's satirical i watched it and found it hilarious but also like drewski's very much in that world like it just worked like he was very very good at doing that um the st kid rap song was a genius marketing stunt oh my my God, I feel in my soul, it was planted. I feel like the way that the rumor started about Timothee Chalamet looking like this guy was intentional with the ability to do this song, right? Like, I never heard a human being say that to me in person. I just randomly started seeing it on like, like Instagram pages of like the Hollywood Reporter where there's some article written about this crazy fan theory. But like, I never actually heard people talking about the fan. You know what I mean? I don't know. I, that's my, my conspiracy theory. I think it's, it was always planted from the beginning, which honestly, if so, I would love it. I love genius things like that. I think it's so cool. And the fact that he name dropped Marty Supreme in the song, I love that it ties back to his lore as like those videos of him as like doing the statistics rap as a kid. And he's always just been a huge fan of hip hop. Like it's been integral to him and then like a lot of the campaigns he's done throughout his life. So I thought it was a very cool and wholesome tie in while also, again, using this, this crazy mystery thing. And again, it goes back to creating more like what I talked about earlier in this video. Again, like him doing that was interesting because there was this speculation about the, the mystery, right? Like him just hopping on a random verse of a random rap song would have been cheesy and dumb and people would not have liked it. But because there was so much speculation and conversation about like, is this guy, Timothee Chalamet, him doing it is cool. Do you get what I mean? Like the lore is required. There always has to be lore. This is integral to music marketing that film marketing just does not understand. You have to create story. There has to be a narrative. There has to be a driving force always. It can't just be A thing, B thing, C thing. There has to be something leading you into them. You're following a journey. You're following a story. And I truly believe he has always had this story in mind. Like I have a theory that the press store for this movie started at his pursuit of greatness speech. Like that was the moment Marty Supreme began. Because it's not a coincidence that when getting award for your movie, when you know your next movie is entirely about dreaming big and pursuing a craft and what it means to be the best and crossing this line between obsession and ambition that like you give that sort of speech, right? And I actually think it's very cool. You know, I think he's gotten a lot of criticism online for people being like, oh, he's so arrogant talking about he gave top tier performances. I just think he has. He really, really has, you know? I also think too, when you think about the way he's built his career as an actor, you know, like he went a long time without doing a very big franchise money making movie, right? Like it was Dune. Dune was the first one he ever did. And that was what, two years ago? Like I am sure many times he had the opportunity to cash a $100 million check or something and like a Marvel movie or DC movie, whatever, you know, just a big franchise that would make a ton of money. And no, he did a lot of indie filmmaking. He was doing very artistic films with a lot of meaning, you know, and great dialogue and not some big action blockbuster thing. And I think that that was discipline. I think it was an intentional decision that he made of being like, yeah, like I'm really serious about the making of film and what film means to people. And the movies that I'm picking are the ones that I feel have the deepest meaning. And now he has transitioned, you know, into his like it boy era and doing something like Dune. I fucking love Dune. Dune is amazing. Like, and I think that's great. I think that's admirable. I actually don't find it annoying at all. I find his, the way he articulates it to be humble, yet poised and proud. Like, I think it's good to be proud of your work. I don't think it's, it's condescending or anything. Like, I don't know. I just, I've really liked it. And I think that we should normalize the pursuit of greatness. You know, we should normalize people saying their dreams boldly and loudly and proudly. And doing whatever they can to achieve them. I am doing that here. You know, like, I feel like that's what I want this to be. I want this to be great. I want to create a space where I feel like people are talking about art and music and film and marketing, these things of culture in a more analytical and academic way, because no classroom setting that we have actually in the world does that. Our education system sucks. So this is like my version of that, right? Like, that is what I want to do. And that's why it means so much to me to have guests on the show, have artists on the show, have politicians, people who are actually doing the thing, you know, that is meaningful to me. It's what I want. I am in pursuit of making this the greatest show possible. I am in pursuit of making this the biggest, best entertainment podcast to ever exist. That is my goal, you know? And am I going to get there? Who knows? But like, I love the climb, you know, I think it's, it's rewarding. It's tough. It means something to me. And it's something that kid me wish she had growing up, you know? So that is why I'm doing it. That is my pursuit of greatness. That is my dream big. So what do I think about the film as a whole? I really, really loved it. I thought it was so great. Great film, Josh Nafti, amazing. I really understand the comparisons between this and Uncut Gems, the way it has this like, large, large build. I love the ethos of the film. Do I think it is like the Oscar winning movie of the year? I don't really know. I think it's definitely top three, top five movies of the year for me. I do feel like there were things about sinners, and one battle another after another that impressed me more. I think Timothy's performance in this movie is incredible. The rage of emotion he displays is incredible. I think there were just some things that I didn't love about the ending. Like, like, one to me that this idea that we're just supposed to expect that like, he saw his child one time. And is now magically a changed man is now gonna go work at some shoe shop that he literally spent the entire first hour of the movie shitting on like, that's not gonna happen. Like, I think and I think it's just a movie you're supposed to have some suspension of disbelief that like, there's a new dream now. And there's a new thing or also, you know, I've seen a lot of commentary online from guys being like, I need a, you know, you need a girl like, I don't remember her name in the movie, but Odessa Zion's character, like I need a girl like that. And I'm like, she's crazy. And not realistic at all. Her man left her with a bullet wound in the chest about to go to labor to play a random exhibition ping pong game in Japan. He didn't even get to enter the tournament. He did nothing happened. And she he left her bleeding out about to go into childbirth. I would dump his ass. I'm sorry. Like, that is not realistic. That is bad and crazy. So like, there were elements in the movie there that bothered me. Like, I wish that there was just a bit more of that. I also randomly felt like Gwyneth Paltrow's character and him never really had any sort of conclusion, which I wish would have happened. Like, he sees her crying that one time, and then they literally just never interact for the rest of the movie. And I would have loved if there was some sort of comparison of maybe like, you know, they have some sort of conversation where she talks about how she married for money, thinking that that would help her. Like, I wish that there was some sort of comparison of maybe like, you know, they have some sort of conversation where she married for money, thinking that that would help her. For old friends and new. Coca-Cola. For everyone. Pick up some Coca-Cola at a store near you.