Hansel and Zoolander’s epic Zoolander 2 announcement during the Valentino show at Paris Fashion Week earlier this year left us praising the team behind the film’s marketing strategy. The really, really ridiculously good-looking male models executed their announcement of the sequel on a big scale and in the most seamless way possible. The film’s marketing strategy captured spontaneity and spoke to their audience, which set them up for great content. The simplicity of their sequel’s announcement hit home for all marketers striving to capture this kind of engagement. It is the ultimate blueprint for future film marketing strategies and it isn’t over yet. After months of silence and leaving us wanting more, Derek Zoolander is back and his “Blue Steel” look is better than ever.
Ben Stiller, who plays Zoolander, revived his Instagram account just over a week ago by changing his account name to Zoolander and writing a hilarious, and seriously in-character, caption.
Native Advertising Becomes a Reality
Zoolander’s audience is all over social media. During the sequel’s initial announcement at Paris Fashion Week, the Zoolander team used Snapchat, Twitter, and Instagram to capture their audience without using paid native advertising and still received substantial engagement across the web. 
Now that Ben Stiller changed his Instagram name to Zoolander, he is taking it a step further by making Zoolander a reality on social media. It’s an interesting concept that seems like an evolution to native advertising. Even better, it is more cost effective.
Zoolander Is So Hot Right Now, Even Celebrities Want In
Celebrities from all over are jumping on the Zoolander train after their Paris Fashion Week stunt. Today, Zoolander posted a photo with Justin Bieber in a Zoolander-esque outfit captioning the post with “#twinsies”. In 1 hour, the post got 15,000 likes and over 500 comments.
Over millions of online videos have been produced since their initial announcement. As they continue to produce massive social media buzz and tons of online and offline press, Zoolander 2 will provide enough momentum to reach their release date on February 12, 2016.
Here are other films that are trying to challenge Zoolander 2 in a marketing strategy walk-off:
Monsters University
Pixar’s marketing team created an entire website around the fictional university featured in the movie. The website actually has depth as well. The fictional university’s website allows visitors to browse courses, student testimonials, school clubs, and even housing and eating facilities.
Anchorman 2
Back in 2012, Ron Burgundy made a surprise appearance on the Conan Show for the anticipated release of Anchorman 2. Burgundy played his trademark jazz flute solo that resulted in over 6 million YouTube views.
Hunger Games
The Hunger Games movies are known for their awesome movie soundtracks. During The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 released in November 2014, the movie’s most popular song, “The Hanging Tree,” was remixed, which resulted in over 20 million views on Vevo’s YouTube channel. The original and remixed song played on radio stations across the U.S.
Digital Marketing and social media platforms are providing solid foundations to capture all audiences for movie marketing. This is possible since over 74% of people in the 18 to 65+ age range are on social media today. Now that marketers know where to find their target audience, all they need to do is use creativity and “wow” their audiences.
