Cornetto's Lesson on How the Smallest of Details Can Elevate Your Brand into the Next Level

In my first edition of this newsletter, I spoke a little bit about product placement and missed opportunities. In this one, you will see how a small product placement turned into a cult phenomenon. And no, it's not the same really. It's two different sides of the spectrum. One who just didn't have any 'cojones' to follow through with it, and the other one who embraced it into stardom. Yeah, I am referring to the Cornetto Trilogy. Follow me into a little introduction of the movies first.

Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz & The World's End

All three of these movies have been directed by Edgar Wright. In them you'll find starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. Shaun of the Dead is a comedy with zombies, where the main idea is to fight them off in a pub. Hot Fuzz is a buddy cop parody where a dark secret about the village of the year is uncovered. The World's End is a crazy beer run, or should I say pub run, that involved aliens.

Now these descriptions feel as dry as your tongue on a hot summer day, when you've walked right under the sun for a straight ten minutes and the heat reflects off the goddamn pavement. My advice? Please watch them. They're a lot of fun.

How Does Cornetto Fit in All This?

The burning question is, did Cornetto plan this? Hell no. Maybe they would have done a great job at it. We'll never know. However, it wasn't their idea. But they backed it up perfectly.

1. Just a Gag Origin

In the first movie, Shaun of the Dead, we can see Shaun, the main character, buying and eating a strawberry Cornetto. The director included it as he always ate a Cornetto to nurse a hangover. The fans were vocal after the first movie about this bit, so Edgar Wright put the bit in Hot Fuzz and the World's End. The weirdest way to have a product placement. As a joke. But the audience loved it so much, so it was made possible.

So in Shaun of the Dead it was a strawberry Cornetto. Red wrapper symbolizing blood and gore.

In Hot Fuzz it was the original blue Cornetto. Blue wrapper symbolizing police and law enforcement.

And in the World's End it was a Mint Green Cornetto. Green wrapper symbolizing aliens and sci-fi.

Therefore, this made it possible for Cornetto to be inserted in the storyline in a meaningful way. And most importantly, it felt organic.

2. How Did it Get its Name?

The trilogy wasn't named the Cornetto Trilogy at first. But it got this name later. Not from the filmmakers. It was the fans and media who coined the name. In the last movie, the filmmakers and Cornetto officially embraced the name. Cornetto itself acknowledged the connection to the trilogy and integrated it into their public image and social media presence.

3. Entrance in Pop Culture

Fan-driven humor helped with Cornetto entering the stage of pop culture through the trilogy. They shared memes and social media posts with the movie scenes. This helped the brand go viral. And nowadays going viral is worth its weight in gold. You get a large amount of eyes on you, which can be converted to more clients and therefore profits.

Also, another brilliant thing that worked in Cornetto's favor like a charm was the fans kept asking for their ice creams. That helped turn the product into an unofficial collectible. If you see anything related to the trilogy, the Cornetto ice creams are everywhere, either in design or as a figurine you can get.

Conclusion

Yeah, Cornetto didn't plan this. And to be fair to them, it was just 2004 when the first movie came out. A whole different beast. The marketing game was played differently back then. However, their commitment to backing up the marketing opportunity that came their way was brilliant. They didn't shy away from it but took it in stride and incorporated it into their identity too.