Hand your product to him and he will steer through the conventional norms and bring out a spectacular campaign for your brand. Because when he is not busy smashing out hit films, he is probably at his desk, writing the upcoming ad script. As hit (read: hot) as his films are, the barrage of campaigns created by him (and his team) are no less to set the marketing world on fire. Here we are, talking about the Deadpool Star- Ryan Reynolds.
He did not have a liking for marketing (there are other people for that aspect), but the years of combined effort along with George Dewey in making the Marvel superhero Deadpool into the highest-grossing R-rated film, (maybe) encouraged him to take down his hands-on content creation. “We started to look at marketing as a completely different tool we had in the shed, and something we could really tell stories with,” says Reynolds, “Everything is storytelling; if you’re not paying attention to that, then you’re just broadcasting and not engaging.” “Now I look at marketing as one of the great joys of my life and my business.”
Besides being an actor- he is the co-founder of the marketing agency Maximum Effort. Two major clients of the agency include Aviation Gin and Mint Mobile- both of which Ryan happens to hold ownership stakes in. Ryan Reynolds is the recipient of Adweek’s March Adness 2019 and 2020 for his work on Aviation Gin, and also the finalist of 2019 Content Marketer of the Year. Great, eh?
The actor’s signature humor and the commitment to entertain viewers birthed the most intriguing ad campaigns- we cannot get over with. Let’s take a dive.
Deadpool Marketing
Skull – Poop – L, one might’ve noticed while driving down Los Angeles- billboards featuring the star pieces of Deadpool’s marketing arsenal. Whether we say ‘eww’ or ‘cool’, Adweek rewarded the campaign to be “So stupid, its genius”, and Tech times said “Crude and clever”.
Source: Medium
The next time- Deadpool was on tinder. Imagine getting matched with your superhero- a dream come true!
Source: Heavy Metal
And then at the entertainment show ‘Extra’- the host Mario Lopez was knocked out by Deadpool when he insisted the movie can’t succeed with an R-rating. Haha- jaw-drop at the last second.
Source: YouTube
But of course, it was an April Fool’s prank. But horrific and funny. And has over 2 million views.
Plus, there were 12 days of Deadpool- 12 different websites released 12 pieces of Deadpool content.
Source: YouTube
Truly Marvel-lous!
The release of Deadpool 2 also witnessed the Shenanigans of Reynolds. Like the parody video of Bob Ross’ ‘The Joy of Painting’.
Aviation Gin Marketing
The actor got a taste of the spirit while shooting- mesmerized by the drink, he bought into the brand and became its creative director in 2018. The actor is on a constant hunt for innovative ideas and content that will throw humorous surprises on the audience. In one of his earliest videos for the brand, he shared the story of ‘The Process’- an answer to ‘What makes Aviation Gin so delicious?’
Source: YouTube
The actor later revealed his email address on the Jimmy Fallon show and thereafter being bombarded with a barrage of emails. Senders were approached with a witty automatic response. Great marketing tactic indeed!
Source: Equinet Media
Not to forget the ‘Truce’ video starring Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman- you can’t keep yourself from laughing at the actors’ social media war.
Source: YouTube
Note: We do not encourage drinking, but we do encourage taking notes from such campaigns.
Mint Mobile Marketing
As a key person of the telecommunication brand, Ryan Reynolds appears in most ads and promotes them on his social media platforms. The humor and creativity that goes behind each ad are beyond comparison and often go viral.
The humorous ad starring Rick Morans and Ryan Reynolds went viral and was trending on Twitter, and the brand gained an incredible lift and energy.
Source: YouTube
During the election, when Mint’s competitors were making political campaign donations, the brand thought of having fun and donated 15 dollars to the Mayor of Idyllwild, California- a dog named Max. Yes, a dog, a Mayor.
Source: YouTube
In the most recent ad, the campaign featured Satan from Hell- remember the one who found his love in 2020, or rather, fell in love with 2020. Basically, it was a ‘Match made in Hell’, technically- a match made in match.com. So, Satan is back as a new employee of ‘Big Wireless’- a generic mobile company representing all of Mint’s market competitors.
Source: YouTube
Ryan Reynolds and his team are breaking the advertising norms and stand out by taking actions other brands have never dreamt of. Though he might be blessed with wit and humor, it is not impossible for you to develop your brand voice. What marketers can learn from Ryan Reynolds is the authenticity and relevance he delivers in his campaigns with a dash of humor.
