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A few months ago, we heralded A24 for its viral, Gen Z-focused marketing. Now, only two months later, Timothee Chalamet has fallen out of public favour, and Marty Supreme has lost nearly every award at all major shows, including the Oscars. What happened?
Well, the Oscars came and went…and Marty Supreme picked up zero awards.
It follows on from a largely unsuccessful awards run across the board, with the film missing out on all eleven BAFTAs in February, making it tied for the most losses in the ceremony’s history. Lead actor Timothee Chalamet did manage to bag Best Actor at the Golden Globes, but the overriding public sentiment has been that the movie mostly flopped. Only two months ago, all signs indicated that A24’s table tennis flick was to dominate critics and voters. We even lauded the film’s marketing, describing it as a ‘trailblazing’ moment for modern advertising.
So, what happened?
Despite the blimps, the clever pseudo-marketing meetings, and the streetwear jacket drops, it seems that audiences eventually found Marty Supreme’s advertising campaign to be gimmicky and overreaching. Chalamet was absolutely everywhere, appearing on talk shows and dropping into music videos, constantly promoting the film with a mix of his real personality and Marty’s. While it appeared to be effective at first, it ran out of momentum throughout February, with Sinners picking up steam as the big award shows loomed.
Chalamet has also been in hot water over the past few weeks for saying that ‘no one cares’ about ballet or opera as performative arts. The backlash, coupled with the sheer oversaturation of Chalamet in popular media, has turned large swathes of his audience away, leaving Marty Supreme in a compromised position. The Hollywood Reporter is calling for a ‘Chalamet Break,’ while The New York Times has claimed that even his most diehard supporter, who runs ‘Club Chalamet,’ is temporarily going offline.
What does Marty Supreme’s hero-to-villain arc say about Gen Z marketing?
While the context behind the run-up to award shows is always complex, the absolute crash out in public favour over the last few months indicates that Gen Z’s appetite and retention for marketing campaigns are extremely fleeting. Where it initially felt unique and novel, Marty Supreme’s gimmicky approach steadily started to come across as a spectacle that lacked authenticity. It is crucial to convey genuineness when trying to appeal to Gen Z; the moment it feels meticulously orchestrated, you’ll start to lose them as an audience.
Marty Supreme essentially became a victim of its own hype. Online attention and trends are notoriously fast-moving, and audiences quickly shift to the next cultural moment as soon as it arrives. It certainly doesn’t help that Chalamet has been divisive and outspoken over the past month or so, either, and narratives can completely flip if any mistake is made. As we said in January, Marty Supreme was poised to win big, but Chalamet and A24 may have been too aggressive, ultimately leading to viewer fatigue and audience division.
The controversy surrounding Chalamet – his ballet comments, relationship with Kylie Jenner, lack of awards, and overly confident demeanour – has also weakened his relatability to the average twentysomething. We know that Gen Z have strong parasocial relationships with celebrity figures, typically forming intense online fandoms that bring lofty expectations. As soon as Chalamet began to falter and move away from his ‘soft boy’ and ‘arty’ image, he lost a significant amount of traction with his audience.
The lesson to take from this story isn’t clear, at least not yet. What we do know, however, is that social media marketing and industry buzz don’t always translate to award success and critical praise, no matter how foolproof it may seem at first. This is true for both film and music, with Jack Harlow – a rapper once seen as the next big thing – currently being clowned on all over social media for his latest album and recent comments made on several podcasts.
Social media is brutal and flippant. Even when you think you’ve won the world over, it can just as easily come back to bite you.
See also:
- Gen Z men have regressive views on gender roles…but why?
- How McDonald’s marketing misfired
- Why brands are struggling to keep Gen Z spending
