Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 blasted its way to the top of the box office with $427 million in global box office sales for its opening weekend. Long before millions flocked to theaters to get their Baby Groot fix, marketers were hard at work with a galaxy’s worth of brand partnerships and sneak peaks galore.
Ever since the sequel’s teaser was revealed in October, Marvel has been slowly ramping up the hype with a Super Bowl commercial and mix tape poster reveal that announced Kurt Russell’s involvement with the film. Since then, director James Gunn has generously shared behind-the-scenes photos from his social media accounts leading up to the movie’s premiere.
It’s no coincidence that a video game, Guardians of the Galaxy: A Telltale Series, was released last month, too, just a little over a couple of weeks before the film’s premiere. Although the game features different actors than those appearing on the big screen, the characters are designed after the 2014 film interpretation.
One of the most iconic elements for the Guardians of the Galaxy films is the soundtracks, and Marvel shared the tunes from Vol. 2 in a rather . . . creatively crunchy way. Marvel teamed up with PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay division and its Doritos brand to create a bag of chips with a built-in music player.
Just like Peter Quill, also known as Star-Lord, hungry fans can plug a pair of headphones into the bag’s 3.5 mm jack and enjoy the entire soundtrack of the film. The bags, initially available on Amazon’s website, sold out quickly but you can find them on eBay . . . marked up considerably.
The bags were part of Marvel and Doritos’ “Rock Out Loud” campaign. Entering codes from specially marked bags, the “Choose Your Guardian” activation offers fans a chance to win prizes ranging from tote bags to a Samsung Gear VR headset or a trip to London to live like a rock star.
Ford received a cameo appearance in the film with its all-new EcoSport compact SUV that goes on sale early next year. The car manufacturer teamed up with Marvel not only for product placement but a sweepstakes where entrants get a chance to win an EcoSport, a hometown screening of the movie, one of 150 custom illustrations by a Marvel artist depicting the fan as a galactic hero and “plenty of swag.”
In addition to the contest, the EcoSport will star alongside Groot, Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax and Rocket in a limited 500 print run comic book that will also be published digitally online for a short time.
Geico Insurance had a bit of fun with the help of Baby Groot in a TV commercial.
M&Ms characters Red and Yellow teamed up with the raccoon in their very own commercial, then took over a New York subway train to create a “cosmic wonderland” for passengers. In honor of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2‘s premiere, the confectioner made portraits of the film’s main characters out of candy across its social media channels.
Marvel Studios' Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 and M&M'S invades New York City. Check out the subway takeover! #GotGVol2 In theaters May 5th pic.twitter.com/oAtlKfOZZw
— M&M'S® Brand (@mmschocolate) April 20, 2017
On Twitter, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 has six sponsored hashtag images for fans to play with: #GotGVol2, #Gamora, #Starlord, #Drax, #Rocketraccoon and #Groot. The conversation keeps on going, especially as the intergalactic sequel nears $450 million globally.
3D cinema platform and visual technology company RealD Inc. announced Sunday that the film generated 41 percent of its worldwide gross to date ($174 million) from 3D performances of the film.
