Zoolander 2 may not be getting the reviews it hoped for but the opening of Kiehl’s week long Zoolander activation won raves.
DZCFPWDAG, aka Derek Zoolander Center for People Who Don’t Age Good, opened with an event worthy of its Paramount connections.
While the centre is a nod to The Derek Zoolander Center for Kids Who Can’t Read Good, whose opening fulfilled Zoolander’s dream in the first film, the Kiehl centre’s roots are grounded in film two, notable Zoolander’s obsession with ageing.
Guests were beckoned by models in leopard and silver metallic suits on Razor scooters backed by a quartet of trumpeters. A young man – an expert in anti-aging – gave the welcome address. Around him were banners bearing Derek Zoolander’s signature Blue Steel face and the message, “Make aging wish it had never been born” or “We put the you back in youth.”
After the introduction, guests walked along a leopard print carpet to be introduced to Zoolander and Kiehls’ 6.5 step “youthification program”.
Inside the The Derek Zoolander Center for People Who Don’t Age Good, the 6 1/2 step process tests if guests had aged poorly. One of the standout steps is an examination of their PTNR or “pants to nipple ratio.” The further the nipples are from the waist, the poorer the ageing process.
They are misted with Kiehl’s anti-aging serum, put tiny shoes on their fingers to strut down a finger runway dedicated to the memory of J.P. Prewitt, legendary hand model and finger jockey (played by David Duchovny in the first Zoolander film). The experience concludes at a selfie station where visitors can pose with the models and practise their best Zoolander face.
Of course, there’s merchandise.
Kiehl’s hasn’t used traditional paid media in its 165-year-history, so the activation by Night Agency was seen as a way to engage fans through social content tied to the experience.
“The intent is to create something people will talk about and use the concept to build content around it. This one, as odd as it seemed, felt like a perfect relationship, especially since the film is about Derek’s struggle with aging,” stated Evan Slater, partner and executive creative director at Night Agency.
As evening fell over the centre’s opening, Zoolander 2 held a runway show at Alice Tully Hall. Zoolander (Ben Stiller) was joined by Will Ferrell as evil designer, Mugatu, Owen Wilson as supermodel, Hansel, Penelope Cruz as Interpol secret agent, Valentina. Gigi Hadid opened the show in Marc Jacobs and Jacobs attended, as did Tommy Hilfiger, Alexander Wang, and Valentino designers Pierpaolo Piccioli, Maria Grazia Chiuri and Anna Wintour , all of whom have cameos in the film.
Other Paramount campaigns for Zoolander 2 include:
- A Fiat ad that made its debut during the Golden Globe awards
- A limited edition Blue Steel Ciroc vodka in Europe
- A Zoolander Instagram takeover with Barbie
- And a series of ridiculous PSAs with NBCUniversal, The Outside Matters, that parody NBC’s The More You Know campaign. The films were created by Paramount and NBCU’s in-house Content Innovation Agency (CIA) and air on NBC, Bravo, E!, USA and Telemundo tailored for each network’s audience.
Movie ticket purchase site, Fandango, will release all the videos on its Fandango site (where bonus content will be available), as well as its Facebook, Twitter and Instagram feeds.
