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Where to place an ad featuring movie star Timoth\u00e9e Chalamet? Why, at the movies, of course!<\/p>\n
The Dune<\/em> and Wonka <\/em>star beloved among Gen Z partnered with Cash App for a cinematic, two-minute-long ad spot that is playing in movie theaters across the country this summer. The ad, which also features Didi<\/em> actor Izaac Wang and explores intergenerational attitudes toward money, is Chalamet\u2019s latest brand deal after working with luxury brands including Cartier and Chanel.<\/p>\n Cash App specifically chose to run the spot before showings of Superman <\/em>during its opening weekend, with no other fanfare or official announcement\u2014making the ad feel, for one weekend, almost like a gift for particularly devoted Timmy fans, who took to social media to express their excitement about his unexpected in-theater appearance. The ad will also air before showings of The Fantastic Four: First Steps<\/em>.<\/p>\n While the spot is now appearing on Cash App social channels and is being cross-promoted on Chalamet\u2019s own social media accounts, playing in theaters was key to the brand\u2019s strategy to land with its core Gen Z and millennial audience, Catherine Ferdon, Cash App CMO, told us.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we really wanted to do was intentionally stoke interest and curiosity by showing up in those unexpected formats,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n To create the spot, Cash App worked closely with Chalamet as well as director Aidan Zamiri and writer Elijah Bynum, both of whom have collaborated with Chalamet before. The aim, Ferdon said, was to incorporate the actor\u2019s unique creative lens into financial messaging. As an actor who has \u201cspecific resonance\u201d with Gen Z and millennials, she said, his involvement was key to creating a campaign aimed at challenging the expectations that young audiences might have of a finance app.<\/p>\n \u201cWe really wanted to do something that gave us the flexibility to elevate our brand storytelling and emotion,\u201d Ferdon said. \u201cIt was very important to us that we did not want this to look like a traditional financial services ad.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s not the first time the company has worked with of-the-moment talent. Past partnerships include Kendrick Lamar and SZA, Doechii, Ramy Yousef, and others, all of whom Ferdon said were selected for having a personal connection to the brand and having \u201cunique, engaged fan bases.\u201d<\/p>\n Marketing Brew informs marketing pros of the latest on brand strategy, social media, and ad tech via our weekday newsletter, virtual events, marketing conferences, and digital guides.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Going the movie-theater route was also key to targeting its younger audience, Ferdon said, because \u201cone thing we know is that Gen Z in particular loves going to the movies.\u201d A report from National Research Group backs this up: attending a movie\u2019s opening weekend is the No. 1 preferred activity for those ages 10\u201324, according to UCLA\u2019s Center for Scholars & Storytellers 2024 Teens & Screens report.<\/p>\n Opting to run the spot before showings of Superman <\/em>on its opening weekend was designed to help stoke excitement and conversation among movie fans and those who are particularly excited about Chalamet\u2019s work, Ferdon told us.<\/p>\n \u201c[It] was really an onslaught of online conversation from younger people who were really compelled to go out and see the latest flicks in theaters explicitly because of this sort of Easter-egg launch available only in theaters before anywhere else,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n To further engage with fans, Cash App directly deposited $25 into certain Chalamet fans\u2019 Cash App accounts to go see a movie\u2014and of course, the ad.<\/p>\n As it continues to roll out, the campaign will also include targeted OOH and shorter versions on CTV and social media, as well as limited-edition Cash App Card stamps featuring imagery from the spot.<\/p>\n Though the campaign was designed to go beyond the theater, Ferdon said this debut strategy allowed the cinematic nature of the creative to feel like a natural fit for audiences. \u201cThe long cut is a very artful, intriguing piece of work that sort of demands the full-screen, lean-in nature of cinema,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n And though theater ads might not always be considered by marketers as the sexiest channel, the Cash App team sees it differently.<\/p>\n \u201cSome people might look at media buys in cinema as a more traditional sort of practice of yesteryear,\u201d Ferdon said. \u201cBut I think we have a perspective that it\u2019s coming back in a big way.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\nTake me out to the
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