Broken Marketing by Anvara - Week 14

Welcome to Broken Marketing

Welcome to the 14th weekly edition of Broken Marketing by Anvara, where we discuss marketing that breaks.

For those of you that are new here, we’re Nick and Andrei, the co-founders of Anvara. We’ve included you here because one way or another we’re connected. We’re happy to have you a part of the Anvara family. 

CHICKEN JOCKEYYYY

Everyone’s favorite childhood video game, Minecraft, just made it on the big screen. Directed by Napoleon Dynamite’s Jared Hess, A Minecraft Movie featured stars like Jack Black and Jason Momoa. It also became the highest opening video game movie ever by bringing in over $160 million at the box office. And fans are apparently going absolutely insane at the “chicken jockey” scene, yelling and throwing their drinks in the theaters - a viral moment.

Video game movies usually miss because they aim for “mass appeal” and forget the fans. The Minecraft team did the opposite by bringing their game to life. And their marketing campaign did it perfectly.

From McDonald’s collabs to Ender Dragons at conventions in Brazil, Warner Bros. didn’t just market the movie—they let fans live it. These weren’t just promotions. They showed that the Minecraft world works anywhere, even in a Happy Meal.

They also focused on making the experience feel authentic. Warner Bros. included Minecraft’s game developers (who are well known in the community) into the film’s creation and campaign. The developers engaged with fans before the movie’s release and were referenced in the movie. Actions like these make products feel more authentic to customers. Wendy’s is known for their funny twitter comments, and children's shows often make jokes only the parents would get, all to make themselves more relatable to their audience.

Viral moments are worth as much as any ad nowadays, and Minecraft seems to know the secret formula. A scene of the Minecraft chicken jockey with Jack Black has become a viral marketing weapon. Videos of the scene have gained tens of millions of views, and one screening had the police called from how crazy the crowd was.

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From marketing to film, the Minecraft movie shows how understanding your audience can create a record breaking product. So be authentic to your audience, and let your fans do the talking for you.

Mercedes' Masters Playbook: Prestige Over Overpromotion

The Masters were this week. The iconic golf tournament considers itself a “tradition like no other,” and their marketing style lives up to the claim. The Masters takes in $0 from domestic TV and sponsorships, only has four primary sponsors (IBM, Bank of America, Mercedes-Benz, and AT&T), and runs 4 minutes of TV ad time per hour. Yet Mercedes’ CMO, Melody Lee, said “it’s one of the best properties in sports.” But why?

That’s because the Masters has millions of viewers and even more fans worldwide, and the opportunity to be one of few brands to reach that audience is extremely valuable. Why spend over $1 million and have your brand lost in the noise of an event like the NBA All Stars (which has double the amount of ad time to live action) when you can gain exclusive access to a targeted high-end audience?

The Master’s auto partner, Mercedes-Benz, has taken full advantage of the exclusiveness. While the Masters does not allow brand signage, Mercedes found a loophole by making themselves the only car brand allowed on the property. With over 400 cars on site, Mercedes will still have its logo everywhere. 

Mercedes has also invested in five 30 second ads that will run repeatedly across the 56 total minutes of TV ads happening this week. All featuring their newest and most luxurious models, the ads are targeted to the Masters’ selective crowd.

Many brands pride themselves on having ads at events like the World Cup and the Super Bowl, but these ads are competing with each other for attention. The Masters benefits sponsors by giving them a dominant voice and sense of luxury, so Mercedes and co. get to share their story exactly how they want to.

While large audiences seem illustrious, they often lead to empty voices for brands. Just as returning customers are more important to businesses than new customers, finding an audience that is just for you is invaluable. So go searching, and remember, be brave because nobody has ever won the Masters shooting for par. 

This week’s news

Here’s a brief update on marketing news from this week:

• The Trillion Dollar Tweet. Everyone and their mother (especially her 401k) has seen the market crash from Trump’s tariffs. Monday’s charts started red, a tweet from @yourfavorito that Trump’s tariffs would be delayed 90 days went so viral, that the market temporarily went green. The account was anonymous, and the news was untrue, but the virality of the tweet was enough to impact the global market—the White House themselves had to deny the claims. If you haven’t picked up on the power of social media yet, you’re behind. Put your social media intern in the ring and maybe you can be next up.

• IKEA is bringing “Severance-core” to an office near you. IKEA is marketing desk dividers using the Severance desk. Their IG shows a photo of the show’s same eerie setup—green carpet, boxy monitors, cold lighting, and the unmistakable white dividers and retro-fitted desks. The ad doesn’t mention Severance by name, but it doesn’t need to. Fans recognize the reference immediately. It’s smart marketing. The show’s visual style is instantly iconic, and the desk itself became a symbol of corporate absurdity. IKEA taps into that brand recognition to make a $200 acoustic screen that feels more like a cultural object than just office furniture.

• Meta’s new AI picks your ads—better than you can. Meta’s Llama 4 model just got accused of gaming benchmarks to improve their ranks amongst competitors like Google and OpenAI. It has cast doubts on their new AI model, GEM, that ranks ads based on user behavior patterns. Think: buy a bike, get ads for gloves and gear. At first, it doesn’t seem revolutionary, but it’s designed to handle and improve the recent flood of generative ad content, and Meta says it boosted conversions by 5%. Meta has spent $65B on AI investments this year, and the rapid growth of companies like Icon.me (which creates AI generated UGC) is a signal it’s time to let the AI take the marketing wheel—it's already driving better results. Anvara does this by using AI to find the best experiential opportunities for your target audience.

That’s all for this week. Happy Wednesday and remember, fortune favors the brave.

What’s Anvara?

Anvara is a first-of-its-kind platform that connects brands with premium real-world advertising opportunities like live event sponsorship, sports marketing, and guerilla marketing. With a focus on innovation, AI, and advanced measurement, Anvara makes it easier for brands to create memorable real-world experiences and measure their ROI. For more information, visit anvara.com.

Quote of the week

“The darkest hour is just before dawn.” - Someone smart