Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni and More: Is Controversy the New Marketing Strategy?

Drama sells. That’s it. 

Spend five minutes on social media, and you will notice one thing—drama sells. Whether it’s a celebrity spat, a botched promotional campaign or behind-the-scenes feuds, it’s hard to tell if we’re tuning in for the art or the chaos surrounding it. 

Take the alleged Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni tension on the set of It Ends With Us—a drama movie about domestic violence starring the two. Or recall the unforgettable “Spit-Gate” at the premiere of the thriller movie Don’t Worry Darling. One thing is clear: drama has become a marketing tool. But is this strategy brilliant or plain desperate?

The case of “drama-rketing”

Let’s kick things off with a question: isn’t it a bit sad that movies have lost the plot so badly that they have to rely on drama and crisis PR to drum up interest? Food for thought.

Take Don’t Worry Darling for instance. The film’s buzz was driven less by its storyline and more by a slew of rumors, on-set tensions and viral moments like the “spit incident”—or “Spit-Gate”, as they called it—between Harry Styles and Chris Pine. Social media speculated that Styles spat on Pine during the Venice Film Festival premiere, and one video of the incident racked up over 1.4 million views. The incident remained largely unconfirmed until, of course, Pine cleared the air. There was, in fact, no spitting. 

The fact that the drama wasn’t even real but still had us glued to social media says more about us as users than it does about the marketing teams. Maybe we should introspect…oh look, a new Sabrina Carpenter song.  

Adding to the tension for Don’t Worry Darling, lead actress Florence Pugh and director Olivia Wilde were rumored to be feuding. The fact that the two didn’t pose together on the red carpet or acknowledge each other post-screening sent the rumor mill into overdrive. All this chaos begs the question: was it planned? Drama drama drama.

Now let’s talk about It Ends With Us. Sources claimed that the lead actress Blake Lively commissioned her own cut of the film, edited by her husband Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool collaborator Shane Reid, sparking rumors of tension with director Justin Baldoni. While Baldoni hired a crisis PR expert, insiders insist multiple cuts are standard and there’s no feud. Fans also noted that the two stars rarely appeared together on the press tour, and Lively’s credit to Reynolds for a key scene fueled speculation over creative control.

Pointless or genius?

For some, the drama-laden press tour for It Ends With Us felt like a PR team running wild—more concerned with making headlines than selling tickets. While the controversy did generate plenty of buzz, some PR experts believed it lacked a clear endgame. What was the key message here? With no obvious tie-in to the film’s core themes or narrative, the spectacle felt detached from the movie itself, leading some to label the approach as misguided.

Lively’s promotional efforts for the film drew criticism, with fans calling her approach “tone-deaf”. The actress plugged her haircare line and sparkling beverage company and even suggested that fans wear florals in homage to her character—a florist—to screenings of a movie about domestic abuse. Some found this move forced, overly commercialized and tactless.

Some even felt that It Ends With Us was desperately trying to create its own version of Barbie’s blockbuster success. But what worked for Barbie, with its bold pink aesthetic and zeitgeist-defining marketing campaign, wasn’t necessarily transferable. It Ends With Us tried to set its trends (florals as a fashion moment) and create a rivalry (positioning the film against Deadpool 3, starring Lively’s real-life husband, Ryan Reynolds, and herself as Lady Deadpool), but the results were lukewarm at best. Not every film can—or should—become a brand (just saying).

When drama pays off

Despite the backlash, these drama-fueled marketing strategies aren’t always failures. Don’t Worry Darling still pulled in impressive numbers, debuting at US$19 million domestically and US$10.8 million worldwide on its opening weekend. The film’s cast, including A-listers like Florence Pugh, Harry Styles and Chris Pine, was certainly a draw, but arguably, the swirl of rumors and feuds helped boost its visibility. For many people, the off-screen drama became more compelling than the actual film.

Similarly, It Ends With Us has surpassed the US$100 million mark at the box office, despite criticisms of its marketing strategies. The power of controversy, it seems, cannot be ignored.

The fine line between engagement and overkill

Drama is inherently magnetic—we can’t look away. But is it a sustainable marketing strategy? While it can create short-term buzz, drama can easily backfire if it’s not aligned with the core messaging of the project. In the case of Don’t Worry Darling, the drama surrounding the film arguably overshadowed its narrative, leaving some viewers unaware of what the film was actually about. 

For It Ends With Us, the overt attempts to manufacture a trend similar to Barbie failed to resonate. The key takeaway? Not all films need to be branded experiences. Sometimes, a movie can stand on its own and succeed without a flood of controversy or over-commercialization.

Also read:

Header Image from Instagram and Flickr