Disney insider reveals staggering $250m secret behind 'The Devil Wears Prada 2'

Disney's marketing team has revealed the secrets behind its record-breaking $250 million campaign for The Devil Wears Prada 2.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the studio designed one of its biggest campaigns in history for the highly-anticipated sequel.

The film, starring Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway, has already grossed over $433 million globally against a $100 million budget. This success is credited to the massive promotional push.

The campaign's value from brand partnerships alone is estimated at a stunning $250 million. It featured collaborations with dozens of luxury and consumer companies.

Lylle Breier, Disney's executive VP of partnerships, gave an inside view of the strategy. She explained the unparalleled scope of the marketing effort.

"The partnership campaigns are incomparable to anything we've done before," Breier revealed to the publication.

"We set out to have it be the best marketing partnership program that's ever launched, and I think even delivered it ahead of a movie like Avengers," she continued.

For those unversed, the sequel is set two decades after the original 2006 hit. The first film was a cultural touchstone and made Hathaway a star.

Disney's main challenge was reaching younger audiences, like Gen Z. They needed to convince a new generation to care about Miranda Priestly. High-impact partners included Dior, Google, Coca-Cola, Mercedes-Benz, and L'Oréal Paris. Each created bespoke content for the film.

"This movie lives at the intersection of fashion, media and pop culture," Breier explained. "So we were able to have a marketing programme celebrating that."

One viral advert for L'Oréal featured global brand ambassador Kendall Jenner. She was jokingly mistaken for a new assistant for Miranda. Another spot for Lancôme saw sequel co-star Pauline Chalamet reprising her role. It was used to launch a new luxury skincare line.

Lancôme's general manager, Ramzy Burns, noted the value was not just product placement. The brand was even able to film on the movie's set.

"What was important was all the intellectual property we [got] to use and being able to film on the set," Burns said in a recent article.

The strategy even extended to the film's global press tour. A bespoke 2026 Mercedes-Maybach S-Class was seen throughout the tour and in the film.