{"id":290022,"date":"2026-02-13T22:46:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T22:46:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/290022\/"},"modified":"2026-02-13T22:46:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T22:46:08","slug":"inside-the-marvel-marketing-machine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/290022\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside the Marvel Marketing Machine"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tIn July, Wonder Man<\/a> star Yahya Abdul-Mateen II<\/a> showed up to the premiere of Fantastic Four: First Steps, answering questions on the blue carpet. Normally, it wouldn\u2019t turn heads for a Marvel<\/a> star to come out to support one of the studio\u2019s other titles. But in a first for Marvel, Abdul-Mateen II was not there as himself, but rather in character as Simon Williams<\/a> to discuss the fictional Wonder Man movie that is central to season one of the Disney+ show. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThat was a tone setting exercise,\u201d says Ryan Stankevich, marketing brand lead for Marvel and Disney. \u201cIt was a signal to the audience that this was something different.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIndeed, Wonder Man, which bowed all eight episodes on Jan. 27, has been hailed for departing from superhero conventions. It\u2019s full of entertainment industry references and real-life Hollywood landmarks, and even has actors like Josh Gad and Joe Pantoliano playing themselves.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe marketing campaign needed to be meta as well. So, when it came to the first poster, the marketing team wanted to create a cover from an \u201ciconic industry outlet\u201d (Stankevich\u2019s words, not mine) and settled on The Hollywood Reporter. \u201cWe could always do a fake industry trade, but that\u2019s not as fun,\u201d she notes. \u201cIf we\u2019re really going to lean into the meta nature of the campaign and lean into the Hollywood nature of everything, we should have a real Hollywood Reporter.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tThey created the fake THR cover, not thinking they\u2019d get approval, but the powers that be at THR gave their blessing. Timed to New York Comic Con, the poster appeared, along with the trailer.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tWonder Man<\/p>\n

\n\tMore meta moments followed.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe show\u2019s fictional, Oscar-winning director Von Kovak (Zlatko Buri\u0107) announced the Wonder Man movie<\/a> on the popular X account Discussing Film, with the clip racking up more than 2 million views.<\/p>\n

\n\tWonder Man star Sir Ben Kingsley<\/a> appeared in character as Trevor Slattery, the actor and reformed terrorism figure, via a series of clips, including one in which he stormed out of an interview<\/a> with TCM host Ben Mankiewicz, while Simon and Trevor appeared together in a video lampooning the viral-focused press tours<\/a> that actors must embark on these days. It was all captured during a single day in New York, the first time Marvel had done such a thing.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cYou need actors that are willing, who lean in and are excited,\u201d says Stankevich. \u201cThey loved the show, and they understood exactly what we were trying to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAs the show approached its launch date, Disney went broad, buying time in the big sporting events you\u2019d expect, from College Bowl Games to the NBA, NHL and the Premier League. But it also kept its offbeat ideas flowing too.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe meta nature of Wonder Man extended to how it was shot, one of the rare shows filmed on location in Los Angeles these days. To highlight that, the team partnered with Starline Tours<\/a> for a bus tour of filming locations, and used it to bring a group of influencers to the Hollywood premiere. (The bus itself also went into rotation for the general public.)<\/p>\n

\n\tThe campaign has continued beyond the premiere, with cheeky references to Gad going missing<\/a> in the fan-favorite episode \u201cDoorman,\u201d and today, with a vintage trailer<\/a> for the fictional Wonder Man film released.<\/p>\n

\n\tFor Stankevich, one of the campaigns that continues to pay dividends is a text message campaign in which people could Text \u201cACT\u201d to 805-8-TREVOR (805-887-3867) to sign up for tips from Slattery.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cBen recorded weeks\u2019 worth of acting tips. I\u2019m still getting text messages from Trevor Slattery explaining the craft,\u201d Stankevich says with a laugh.<\/p>\n