Everything is Wicked (including BRAT)

The grass is green and the sky is pink and getttt me out of here please

This is an EMERGENCY POST because everything around me, and I mean everything, is copy Wicked marketing.

For a month it feels like I’ve been wearing Wicked-themed VR goggles against my will. I turn one corner and there is Jeff Goldblum wearing fur; I turn another and it’s Ethan Slater-Spongebob in a 3-piece velvet suit. Each promo that reaches me is another thread in the fabric of a Wicked themed-dimension I have accepted as my temporary reality. I imagine some marketing exec looking out from a panopticon in Midtown Manhattan, laughing evilly as the entire island turns emerald green and princess pink before his eyes. Just because Barbie surprised everyone by making a billion dollars at the box office, this is the world we have to live in?

…WhAt IS ThiS FeELiNG sO suDdEn and NeW?…

Wicked on the television. Wicked during AMC previews. Wicked at Target, at Starbucks. Xfinity, an internet provider, has partnered with Wicked, for some reason. Did you hear that Cynthia Erivo allegedly broke up Lena Waithe’s marriage? That Ariana Grande is gaslighting us about having an ED? Because these girls are soo extremely outside in look after look after boring costumed look, without one true image worthy of discussion. It’s gotten to the point where discussing these women’s personal lives actually feels like a part of the marketing plan. Did Ariana Grande lose weight so Wicked would stay in the news? I feel like I am developing WICKED PARANOIA.

Amy said I should include this so I did

A few weeks ago I jokingly wondered if Charli XCX’s album brat counted as early subliminal Wicked marketing… you know, because brat is green. Now it’s less of a joke. Call it Wicked paranoia, but I don’t think the answer is a simple no. By the end of this post I attempt to explain why.

Before I put on my tin foil hat (so on theme!), I want to explore the evolution of the Wicked brand.

You may have forgotten that the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz was actually an adaptation of one of the first English-language children’s novels The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, originally published in 1900. So the original IP technically goes back 125 years. But if we’re starting at the first spinoff, here’s the cover of Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel WICKED: The life and times of the Wicked Witch of the West:

Now here’s the original logo of the musical that premiered in 2003, which was based on Maguire’s novel of the same name:

(looking at this makes me feel like I’m on a band trip to NYC in 2005, taking pictures inside the M&M store with my girls)

Now here’s the logo for Crazy Rich Asian director John Chu’s film, out this Friday:

The yassification of the logo was inevitable as is, after the ubiquity of Barbie pink, the pleasing pink-green combination. Also feels important to note that they updated the W significantly to resemble…

• Dorothy’s red shoe on the first prong

• An arrow pointing up on the second, perhaps representative of Galinda and Elphaba’s race to greatness

• And on the third prong a doric column, a nod to Shiz University? Where the majority of this story takes place?

This is just me guessing what the branding deck said.

This new updated W is distinct and reminiscent of Harry Potter, Hogwarts, and has the wearability of Greek Life lettering:

So they’ve got the color combination down, and there’s the new fancy W. But also…

Let’s talk about the choice to develop the narrative into a Two Girlies story…

wish there was a way to make this photo smaller bc like Frozen…I don’t know her

Maguire’s novel is the villain origin story of the Wizard of Oz’s maligned Wicked Witch of the West; Galinda the good witch is her obvious foil. But she’s more of a supporting actor, in both the novel and the musical. I haven’t seen it yet but I can all but guarantee that Ariana Grande’s Galinda will be more dynamic than Kristin Chenoweth’s was.

Frozen, adapted from Hans Christian Andersen’s fable “The Snow Queen,”signaled a major comeback for Disney in 2013, and revolves around a set of sisters: Elsa—who has magical powers— and her sister Anna who, due to an childhood accident, does not recall her sister has the power to control ice and snow.

Universal Pictures, the studio behind Wicked, obviously wants their Disney moment. Or their Warner Brothers Barbie moment.

So it’s unsurprising that they’re going far and wide to make sure kids, teens, parents, families, dogs, cats, witches, and munchkins show up to the movies on opening weekend, pulling in Gens Alpha and Z with echoes of Frozen; their parents with Harry Potter-ifying of Shiz University; there’s already a baked-in element of nostalgia for a certain type of coastal elite millennial familiar with the musical. Check this promo centering Wicked as the ideal perfect father-daughter activity:

wickedmovie

A post shared by @wickedmovie

“Hey pretty girl! Are you ready for our Wicked day?” lmao

Now check out this Wicked/The Simple Life Peacock ad, advertising Chu’s movie and the reboot of Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie’s The Simple Life (OG IP… never heard of it):

peacock

A post shared by @peacock

And speaking of Peacock/NBC Universal…

I couldn’t help but notice that this Target commercial has the same punchline as this Saturday Night Live skit… and that SNL is Peacock!!!

WHICH LED ME TO WONDER… was this weekend’s Wicked skit on SNL actually paid Wicked promo? Cast member Bowen Yang has a supporting role in the film, after all. And CharliXCX was the musical guest this weekend, performing in the classically GREEN Brat-themed room:

I’d say my point has been proven: BRAT IS WICKED PROMO.

At least it was on Saturday Night. Are you feeling greenpink-pilled yet? Let’s just go oneee level deeper on this. I asked Dusty to look up how sold out the opening night screening of Wicked was at the AMC down the street, to see if I’d need to buy tickets in advance. (Obviously I’ll be watching).

When he showed me this, I simply gasped:

For one, the occupied seats themselves are BRANDED. Mon dieu! Finally I’m aware that this barrage will not stop until I’m seated in the theater with my “Ozmopolitan collectible” popcorn and drink…

Not a new trend to have AMC tie-in merch: Taylor's Eras Tour movie and Barbie also did this.

It’s boring to talk about the influence of Barbie and Eras Tour on Wicked promo but I feel like they both must be mentioned here. Those little branded seats in the AMC app remind me that it’s all event marketing. It’s a reminder to show up to the movie wearing pink or green. It’s less “Go see this movie when you can, it will be out in theaters for a few months!!!” and more “Go see this movie THE WEEKEND OF NOVEMBER 21ST so box office sales are HIGH off the bat!!!!!”

But it is certainly curious that, three days out from opening night, the primetime showing isn’t even halfway filled.

So…will Wicked’s November omnipresence produce a billion-dollar-grossing movie to follow in Barbie’s footsteps? Or is this another Kamala campaign waiting to happen?

When I asked Emma (she is an expert since her job title is “brand strategy director”) whether she was buying into the promo, this is what she said:

I’d love to hear your feedback— do you think Wicked will flop? Or is it simply too big to fail? Nothing to do now but wait and see…