Marty SupremeJosh Safdie’s new film starring Timothée Chalamet in the role of a ping-pong prodigy, is on everyone’s lips even before its release. Not because of its quality or its chances of winning an Oscar, but because of its unique marketing, notably featuring orange ping-pong balls. Duty spoke with Nicolas Bon, founder of the marketing agency Clark Influence, to decipher this advertising campaign.
Airship bearing the image of the film, exclusive windbreakers and, right in the center, a Timothée Chalamet who adopts a megalomaniac character for whom only the success of Marty Supreme account: in the eyes of Nicolas Bon, the marketing of Josh Safdie’s new film is the perfect example of a successful advertising campaign in this era where the strategies of yesteryear are no longer a guarantee of success.
“I completely take my hat off to him: Timothée Chalamet manages to make viral outings in social media and transpose them into reality, he makes an event out of them,” says Mr. Bon straight away, citing firstly the recent coup of the man who plays Marty Mauser, who climbed onto the roof of the Sphere in Las Vegas, transformed into a giant orange ball for the occasion.
“With social media, unlike traditional media, the audience you will generate is not proportional to the money you invest,” explains the marketing expert. “So, if you manage to add creativity, innovation, you are able to generate campaigns that can take off. Like for this film. »
Windbreaker and “communion”
Another translation of social media into the real world for Marty Supreme : these windbreakers bearing the image of the film which have “become a social phenomenon”, observes Nicolas Bon. Worn by celebrities like Tom Brady, Kid Cudi and Kylie Jenner, coveted by many, they were finally put on sale in pop-up stores before almost as quickly becoming collector’s items sold at high prices.
To achieve this “kind of communion”, the marketing team of Marty Supreme “unwinds the traditional standards and codes a little”. It arrives “at something which seems a little deconstructed, but which in the end is extremely organized by a public relations agency which has understood that, now, to penetrate the market, social networks are a formidable weapon”, explains Mr. Bon.
For him, one aspect in particular stands out in these publicity stunts: his distinct visual identity. Seeing Timothée Chalamet dressed all in orange — and often accompanied by a small army of people wearing these famous windbreakers (or ping-pong balls on their heads) —, knowing what Marty Supreme couldn’t be easier.
“On social media, when you create a “planet”, a “universe”, you can easily create something that grabs attention,” analyzes the founder of Clark Influence.
Chalamet in search of greatness
Beyond the artistic direction, it is the role that Timothée Chalamet plays in the marketing campaign – and the public persona that he has built – which ensures its success, continues Nicolas Bon. This image of a confident man seeking success above all else, he began to develop since he received the Best Actor award at the SAG Awards for his performance as Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown (2024). “I want to be one of the greatest” and “I am in search of greatness,” he said.
Pour Marty SupremeTimothée Chalamet thus put this caricatured public character to work, notably in a fake Zoom meeting where the actor “presents” his ideas to the marketing team.
Painting the Statue of Liberty an “intense orange” so that the color was affiliated with the film — the same way pink was for Barbie (2023) —, putting your face on cereal boxes or an airship that rains ping-pong balls are ideas evoked by a Timothée Chalamet who could not be more eager for greatness. “Cinema marketing tries to be passive, to be chic. […] We’re not trying to be chic,” he says in this sketch, the broadcast of which imitated a leak of information.
The star actor managed to “flood social media to ensure that his film became a real blockbuster “, even if, basically, nothing guaranteed its success, summarizes Nicolas Bon. “This film is sold out even before it comes out, there is a frenzy that will convert into tickets purchased in theaters. »
