By Racheli Jian, Senior Arts & Culture Editor and Layout Editor
2024 has been a year of sequels. With Beetlejuice, Dune, Inside Out and many more second-time movies, the push to continue a story spans all genres. Gladiator 2 is no exception.
Over 20 years later, the movie picks up with Lucius, the son of the original protagonist, Maximus. Following a similar plot line, Lucius becomes a gladiator to avenge his family’s death. Regardless of what the movie is about, marketing strategies of sequel movies are an interesting representative of how the industry operates.
A common complaint in our generation is that there has been nothing “new” in film, and while this is frustrating, it’s also intentional. Jurassic Park, the 1993 sci-fi film, grossed about a billion dollars. Picking up on this mass profit, the movie eventually became a franchise. In 2015, the remake/sequel, Jurassic World, was released, grossing 1.6 billion dollars, well above the original movie’s profits. This pattern is seen in other popular movies like Star Wars and Harry Potter. The production of a sequel often allows for even more profit, however, it is dependent in large part on the sequel’s marketing.
Gladiator 2 relied heavily on activating sponsors to create buzz around the movie. Additionally, it took a global approach despite being an American film. For example, the movie partnered with brands like Samsung and Lego to display ads on the Piccadilly Lights in London. Similar to Times Square billboards, the lights are essentially a giant billboard nestled in between buildings reminiscent of the Georgian Era.
Another out-of-home advertising technique Gladiator 2 used was partnering with Pepsi to create a campaign celebrating the start of the NFL season. There were various parts to the campaign, including a music video where Megan Thee Stallion sings “We Will Rock You” by Queen, as NFL players battle in a colosseum. There are also “talking” Pepsi cans that use augmented reality to bring the movie to life.
One of the biggest marketing campaigns that caused some controversy was the collaboration with Airbnb. Gladiator 2 took advantage of its story’s location to expand into the European audience. Since the movie centers around the ancient Roman form of entertainment, they thought the Colosseum would be a great location for a marketing campaign. Together with Airbnb, the Gladiator team created an immersive experience that entails gladiator training, dressing in full armor, participating in simulated battles and getting a tour of the Colosseum. Despite the excitement surrounding this opportunity, Italian politicians disliked the use of the Colosseum in this trivial way.
Enzo Foschi, an Italian Democratic politician, felt as though this campaign mocked the rich history of the Colosseum. He took a firm stance on the issue claiming “We are not in Disneyland, we are in Rome. Every now and then someone seems to forget it.” Similarly, Massimiliano Smeriglio, Rome’s councilor for culture, took to Instagram to protest the “hyper tourism” resulting from this marketing plan. However, on November 17, only 10 days before the Gladiator experience was supposed to debut, Semiriglio announced via Facebook that politicians were having an open discussion with Airbnb to maintain the integrity of the landmark.
Despite the slight hiccup in one of their campaigns, the Gladiator 2 marketing team is doing a phenomenal job promoting the movie. They have managed to add excitement for their audience since the original movie but also gain new fans through their varied advertising tactics. Having been out for only two weeks, the sequel has already grossed almost the same amount as the original’s all-time profit. This movie is a prime example of how a sequel, with the right marketing, can turn a great movie into something even better.
Photo Caption: The Colosseum
Photo Credit: Mathew Schwartz / Unsplash