The goal of the digital and social media campaign for Bad Boys: Ride or Die was to reignite fan passion for the franchise, spark excitement, and create buzz that turned the movie into a must-see summer event!
Social media played a central role in driving discovery, with an impressive 56% of fans learning about the film through Instagram, the highest of any platform.
Our Instagram objective was clear: to seamlessly integrate Bad Boys: Ride or Die into the cultural conversation and fuel the summer box office momentum. We achieved this by tapping into social trends, leveraging our movie talent and top Instagram creators, and creating original content that made full use of the platform’s native features.
To make a big splash on Instagram, we created a campaign as bold and fun as the Bad Boys franchise. By leveraging Instagram's native features—like collab posts, interactive comments, and story engagement—we connected with loyal fans and reached new audiences. Custom lenses, including the “Bad Boys Soundboard” AR lens featuring iconic franchise lines and action sound effects, kept fans engaged. Interactive posts, like a playful “scroll the dots” feature for character fist bumps and trending memes, proved we were in sync with Instagram culture. Our bold approach came to life through key campaign beats that energized fans and kept the momentum going on Instagram.
Key Campaign Beats:
Trailer Launch: We kicked off with an exclusive trailer event at the Sony studio lot for 43 influencers with a combined reach of 270M. Attendees got a first look at the trailer, met Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, and shared behind-the-scenes content with their followers. A special talent-led trailer introduction achieved a 6% higher engagement rate and racked up 4.4M views. Collab posts with the cast added another 16.4M views, building massive buzz.
Talent Collabs: Will Smith and Martin Lawrence led the charge, driving excitement for the movie with an exciting global press tour across three continents. Instagram collabs amplified their reach, and prompted fan engagement—like video responses to Instagram comments— that generated tens of millions of views. Their star power helped propel "Bad Boys: Ride or Die" to the top of the box office.
Creator Partnerships: Top creators played a huge role in building momentum. A content day brought global influencers together to create Bad Boys-themed posts with Will and Martin, producing skits, sketches, and high-octane shorts. Creators with a combined reach of 361M participated, including Khaby Lame, whose film cameo sparked a digital partnership that drove massive social volume. Two videos from this collaboration generated 440M+ views, proving the power of creator partnerships.
Brand Collaborations: Partnerships with brands like Spotify and Porsche extended the campaign’s reach. At Spotify LA, we hosted a soundtrack listening party and preview screening, supported by posts to their 12.5M followers. Porsche showcased the trailer to their 32.3M followers and hosted an exclusive event at their Experience Center, tying their iconic cars to the franchise's action-packed vibe.
Behind-the-Scenes Content: Fans were captivated by behind-the-scenes content. A series of Instagram Reels showcasing on-set action drew 38M organic views and caught the attention of news outlets, further expanding the campaign's reach.
Our Instagram strategy leveraged platform features, breakthrough content, talent engagement, and key collaborations with influencers and brands to drive record-breaking engagement - establishing 'Bad Boys: Ride or Die' as a cultural phenomenon!
Our efforts to ignite a social movement through the film’s campaign was a global hit, grossing over $1B globally at the worldwide box office and the movie making its way into the top 10 highest-grossing films of 2024. Bad Boys: Ride Or Die’s success in theaters was largely due to its popularity on Instagram, with a majority of moviegoers citing it as the top social platform where they discovered the movie.
Our Instagram campaign led to growth on our channels. By the end of the film's marketing run, we successfully boosted the official movie account by over 400K new followers as well as Will Smith and Martin Lawrence’s Instagram followers by over 5MM+ combined.
