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Minions and Chiquita Brands: marketing you don’t expect

Elisa Falappa

When we watch a movie we are used to distinguishing, immediately, the main protagonists from the secondary ones; however, the process is not always so obvious.

Sometimes it happens that we find ourselves faced with a total reversal of roles in which “sidekick” characters steal the show from the bosses of the day, not only within the plot but also on a global scale.
We remember, for example, the famous Oompa Loompas who became icons of cheerfulness, sympathy and hilarity overshadowing, in toto, the bizarre protagonist of the Chocolate Factory, Willy Wonka.
Years later we find ourselves in the same situation in which “sidekicks” become more in demand than the protagonist. This is the case with the hilarious Minions from the animated film Despicable Me, Gru’s “henchmen,” who are ready for any anguish in order to pander to their boss.
Although they stood out, in the first screening the Minions still played a marginal role. Thanks to a subsequent Minions-mania, which “squeezed” followers all over the world, the producers of the sequel Cattivissimo Me 2 saw fit to make them the real stars.
The pre-release of the film, scheduled in America for July 2013, was “set up” for good by filling the web with video-messages sent by the little yellow men themselves to those who had been waiting for them since 2010.
The central theme? Obviously the banana. And this is no accident.

Because official partners include Chiquita Brands itself, which, in co-promotion with Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment, conducted an unusual but highly effective marketing campaign, capitalizing on the popularity of the Minions:

The Social presence of both parties facilitated success through continuous interaction with users: promotions, surveys, and contests were the order of the day from early spring – in anticipation of fall. Entire seasons, then, in the grip of all sorts of media “hysteria” by spreading photos and videos on every channel, from TV to the web.
On June 4, 2013, Chiquita Brands began airing on Youtube, as well as on other channels, the video/sponsor linking them officially to the Minions, sparking laughter across the globe and about 2 million visitors in a very few days. The campaign was starting and, from the first results, also quite well since it was also supported by the production of the film. The two paths were traveling parallel, interlocking promotions and ads. One only has to scroll through the FanPages of Despicable Me 2 and Chiquita Banana to understand how they studied everything at the table.
The goal of both was to get people to share and comment on the funny photos also through outdoor events, succeeding in engaging fans and intriguing those who did not yet know anything about it. As we all know, there has to be a good dose of amazement and fun in marketing to ensure a great result. For example, in June, in Bologna, a real hunt for the giant Minion opened at the Vasco Rossi concert. Good move. It is known that there are many fans of the well-known singer. What should they have done?

At the same time, Chiquita was not sitting idly by, bombarding users, on Twitter and Facebook, with a search for blue stickers to complete the minions game, both in America and Italy, and sharing through photos. The joining of forces created a real success, without missing a step. A perfectly organized marketing strategy from April to November, keeping stimulating and sympathetic until the very end. On October 9, the eve of the screening, a tweet was posted on the film’s Twitter page encouraging followers, not only to go to the cinema, but also to write about why, generating chain shares and comments.

All this “chaos” triggered and still triggers a boom in interactions of all ages, amused and titillated by the idea of exchanging opinions and funny photos. But that’s not all. The number of Chiquita banana sales increased disproportionately as did the box office at the cinema, in July in America and in October here in italy. Goal achieved!

Despicable Me 2 and Chiquita: the winning pairing.

“Despicable Me” was such a success that the Minions stole the hearts of people around the world. Since bananas are featured in both films as one of their favorite foods, this was a natural choice for Chiquita ” said Rob Adams, Chiquita marketing manager.“This is a great opportunity to showcase our brand and we are honored to be a part of Despicable Me 2.”
Although it has always been a niche brand, this represents a real big coup for Chiquita, which has cleverly set up a marketing strategy on the “heroes” of the moment. This partnership was, therefore, an excellent opportunity to relaunch the brand, having created one of the largest promotional events with some 26 nations involved.
The Minions, thus, became a real media case in hand with the forward-looking brand. Despite the apparent advertising cleverness, the campaign, spread across TV, Internet and print, seems a bit unusual to us since it sees an unlikely pairing of film and sponsor, to which we are definitely not accustomed.
This change of course has given a real shake-up to the world of marketing, which, for the first time, finds itself dealing with something bigger than itself:cinema . Dismissing the shoes of the “masked knight,” marketing can finally exploit every branch of this great machine, drawing maximum benefit from it. We are used to seeing implicit advertisements pitching us products without letting us know, now instead we openly make use of all neighboring channels in order to enrich our sponsor.
Covert advertising is, by now, an old memory making way for advertising, which we can define as, reflection: correctly contextualized, unforced, sincere and culturally unimpeachable, becoming an effective tool of communication and affirmation of a brand’s perception.
The improbability of combining a banana brand with the animated film has opened the door to shameless and irrepressible advertising, engaging millions of people to participate in this farce. The consumer becomes an active part of the commercial and the film by being able to intervene with games and contests.
The marketing role-playing has really begun with no holds barred, now what should we expect? What other unlikely pairings will we witness?

“Happy”: Pharrell and the Minions.

But genius has no limit. The production company of Despicable Me 2 not only imprinted its sponsorship through a well-known brand but also used the musical production of one of the most famous and popular American rappers, N.E.R.D. leader Pharrell Williams. But it’s not just music and film that he centered.
For the track Happy, used as the film’s soundtrack, the rapper saw fit to shoot a 24-hour interactive clip that features the song on a loop, playing in the background as a piano-sequence shot of streets, squares and public places alternating between unknown individuals, who improvise dance moves, and guest stars – Pharrell himself, Jamie Foxx and Kelly Osburne.
The clip ( streaming at http://24hoursofhappy.com/ ) in just a few days has recorded 2 million hits, becoming a mass phenomenon and driving servers crazy. Users will be able to travel through time, choosing the time of day they prefer to see and share, via special interface.

World rapper and movie of the moment: another well-thought-out pairing … for both!
The animated film, then, was born under a lucky star. Thanks to the receipts of the first film, it was able to imprint a not inconsiderable publicity-promotion that could hold its own against so many other colossals such as Titanic and The Avatar, but with two aces up its sleeve: sponsors. On the one hand, a well-established brand and, on the other, an American bad boy who is much loved by young people. More strategy than that. All the sponsors competed to be able to emulate the Chiquita “shrewdness,” clinging to the aftermath of the sequel’s great success, so, close to the theatrical release, they started producing gadgets, sponsored on the film’s Facebook Page.

What does all this tell us? That times have changed. There are no longer any half seasons. Animated films are not what they used to be. Marketing won again.

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