Brands battle it out to win youth vote with Anchorman 2 deals

With “a voice that could make a wolverine purr and suits so fine they made Sinatra look like a hobo”, it’s no wonder brands are looking to get involved in the social media buzz surrounding the return of Ron Burgundy and his slick team of news reporters.

Paramount UK has announced seven new domestic brand deals so far, with more to be announced in the run up to the hotly anticipated sequel released here next month.

Tango, STA Travel and iTunes are just a few of the successful companies to win contracts with the film, hoping to appeal to its 16-24 year-old audience and others who embraced the original after its release nine years ago.

The oft-quoted film achieved cult-status in 2004, and the social media buzz that has surrounded its sequel, helped by Ferrell’s teaming up with Dodge to promote it’s latest car models as his beloved character Ron Burgundy, means it’s no surprise brands are battling each other to be attached to the popular franchise.

Ya-Lin Chen, Paramount UK head of promotions and partnerships, explained her take on why companies have been jostling to be attached to the film to Marketing Week: “Ron Burgundy and Will Ferrell are not seen as selling out to commercial deals, he’s retained his integrity and humour. There’s this irreverence and humour about him that’s in very good taste and that’s really attractive to brands.

“We’re really pleased to see a young audience really embracing it – people are so passionate about it that 99 per cent of the social media buzz around the film is positive.”

Tango will use digital activity to push a new campaign that sees Ron Burgundy’s image and quotes slapped on all its cans and bottles, and hopes it will see the effort reach more than 15 million consumers, with STA Travel promoting competitions across social media channels to win trips to New York City.