"Brand partnerships with superhero movies are inevitable—let’s face it, most movies are superhero movies these days—but so many of them seem like an unnatural fit. Or a lazy one, at best. There’s a car chase in the movie? Let’s use that in a car commercial! Genius!
That might initially seem like the case with Deadpool’s Devour partnership. Why would Deadpool care about frozen food? Well, he doesn’t—and that’s what makes the new 30-second spot work.
By leaning into the seemingly gross dealmaking of it all and having Deadpool stay true to himself, breaking the fourth wall to tell people exactly what he’s doing and why, the creative team at Wildness (the in-house agency at Gen-Z multimedia company Awesomeness) has crafted an unexpectedly clever superhero spot.
“I always told myself I’d never sell out,” Deadpool allegedly said in a statement sent by Devour’s PR team, “But daddy needs to bring home the bacon. In more ways than one.” Sure.
Of course, winking at product tie-ins isn’t the only reason it works. If you’ve seen Deadpool, you know he’s exactly the kind of guy who’d go out drinking all night and needs to microwave one of those sandwiches at 4 a.m. because he forgot to eat dinner.
The lesson here, if there is one, is if you’re going to do a superhero partnership, at least have it be one where it seems like the character would use the product.
CREDITS
Agency: Wildness Executive Creative Director: Jamie Moore Wildness Head of Production: Phillip Van Wagoner Wildness VP Creative: Jared Seltzer Directors: Beef & Sage Producer: Piazzie Producer: Kate Sharp"
- Kristina Monllos, ADWEEK
Okay first question. What the hells does Deadpool and a grilled cheese have in common?
Nothing.
That's why to me it's genius.
Here's why...
The character of Deadpool is insane. He literally can do anything he wants. Sexualising unicorns is one of his pastimes. Partnering the Merc with the Mouth along with a food brand named Devour sounds almost comical.
For one the packaging along with the title Devour looks like a parody. Deadpool's own movie promotions are usually parodies, an example being the Bob Ross parody Fox created to tease their first teaser trailer for their sequel movie.
(And yes those are the actual lines from the AD)
Devour themselves were genius to secure this AD. Deadpool is a hugely popular anti-hero as he is aimed at an older audience, therefore a larger audience. This is also the audience that Devour wants. The older generation who watch films like this are also the ones who like to play video games and watch endless hours of TV and films.
I should know...I am one of them.
These are the types who want a quick snack/meal that doesn't take them away from their game/tv/film or whatever. And if good old Deadpool makes a funny AD for food then..well they are sold.
As well, for a microwave/oven product, it doesn't look that bad.
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