The creative idea was to tap into the anticipation for the upcoming release of “Zoolander 2” by utilizing the playful character of Derek Zoolander to create a co-branded advertising campaign that extended across TV, digital, and social media. The creative personified the style, humor and cool-factor of both the film and the Fiat 500X as well as promoted the upcoming release of “Zoolander 2.”

Fiat cars were used throughout production of the film, but the campaign creative was completely custom. Ben Stiller appeared as his character, Derek Zoolander, in the TV creative, driving the new Fiat 500x multiple times through an intersection, perfectly timed to the red light camera. Derek gave his model-perfect pose every time the camera took a shot before finally being stopped by police. The commercial debuted during the Golden Globes Awards telecast and launched a multimedia campaign spanning television, digital, and social media. Giving the campaign an extra layer of authenticity, the TV spot was directed by “Zoolander 2” producer, Jeff Mann. To further celebrate the release of the film, Derek took over Fiat’s Twitter account on opening day of the new film with multiple tweets protesting #legalizehot – a nod to his role in the TV spot creative. Writers from the film crafted the Twitter campaign messaging

-PR Success

-Article in Adweek: http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/zoolander-no-2s-ads-brilliantly-mix-fashion-world-even-while-critiquing-it-169035

The partnership between Paramount Pictures and the Fiat brand resulted in a memorable campaign, combining the feature film Zoolander 2 with the Fiat 500X car. The iconic Derek Zoolander character became spokesperson for the new Fiat 500X to create a hilarious promotion for the new film from Paramount Pictures, “Zoolander 2.”

We were looking to secure partnerships with brands with shared DNA (fashionable, cool, fun) and deliver significant promotional support for the new film, “Zoolander 2.” Fiat was identified as the best auto partner to meet these objectives. The creative strategy was to play off the trend in auto advertising to use celebrity endorsement. For the Fiat 500x, the celebrity endorser was the fictional character, Derek Zoolander, as portrayed by Ben Stiller. Once a creative direction was agreed upon, the Fiat team created a multimedia campaign which spanned television, digital, and social media, leading up to the in-theater debut of the new film “Zoolander 2.”

The high-fashion comedy “Zoolander,” starring Ben Stiller as male super-model Derek Zoolander was returning after 15 years to the big screen in “Zoolander 2.” The new film took place in Rome, and the film production team wanted to incorporate vehicles that felt appropriate to the location. The Fiat brand was an obvious choice for use in the film. FCA, the parent company of the Fiat brand, saw an opportunity to go beyond product placement in the film and create a marketing campaign to Introduce the new Fiat 500X by leveraging a pop-culture moment and aligning the Fiat brand with an iconic character.