Ryan Reynolds’s new movie The Adam Project drops on Netflix later this week, and you know what that means . . . Reynolds is in full marketing mode. But this time, he’s also enlisted the help of his young costar Walker Scobell. Scobell plays a younger version of Reynolds in the film, and in this new ad for Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, it’s pretty clear he’s been watching Aviation Gin ads.

The new spot continues a long tradition of Reynolds combining brand advertising with his movie promos. Of course, there have been the obvious tie-ins to his own personal brands like Mint Mobile and Aviation Gin, but Reynolds has gone far beyond. Anyone remember the Hallmark Channel tie-in as one of the 40,000 different promos for Free Guy?

And don’t forget the infamous Advertising Turducken of 2019, when Reynolds managed to fit a Netflix ad for his film 6 Underground inside of an Aviation Gin ad, which itself was inside of a Samsung ad.

Also worth noting: When Scobell asks “You guys Wrexham fans?” in this latest ad, that’s Reynolds’s way of squeezing in a plug for the Welsh football club he co-owns with Rob McElhenney. The inevitable documentary series on the club, Welcome to Wrexham, is set to launch later this year on FX.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jeff Beer is a staff editor at Fast Company, covering advertising, marketing, and brand creativity. More

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