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The corset-fueled Wuthering Heights economy.
The marketing strategy surrounding the film adaptation of Wuthering Heights illustrates a trend where brands leverage literary works to create a multifaceted promotional campaign. By positioning the film as a must-see for Valentine's Day and engaging with younger audiences through book clubs and merchandise, brands can enhance their visibility and relevance in a crowded market.
Feed Me: The corset-fueled Wuthering Heights economy. Plus Noma comes to New York, and Kristen Stewart's new movie theater. Hello everyone. Last night I went to a dinner hosted by Netflix and Substack for Laura Poitras and Seymour Hersh. I’ve been a fan of Laura’s documentary work for years — a friend took me to a screening of All the Beauty and the Bloodshed at New York Film Festival in 2022, and I think about it every time I walk through the halls of The Met.
It was sort of chilling to hear Seymour Hersh (who now writes on Substack) talk about the state of journalism hours after The Washington Post’s layoff announcements. On my way out of Hotel Chelsea, I met Brendan James, co-host of the Blowback podcast. I told him that just that morning my husband was commenting on how impressive their show’s production was.
He shook my hand and told me that he is the producer. In today’s letter: Blackbird’s Ben Leventhal on how to get a Noma LA reservation (and his thoughts on food media), Cami Fateh on the corset-fueled mania of Wuthering Heights, and Kristen Stewart used those Chanel checks to buy a movie theater. Feed Me is $80/year or about $7/month. The good stuff usually happens below the paywall or in the comment section. Political Parties is a nightlife column by Cami Fateh.
It offers readers a glimpse into the unspoken politics of party culture, in rooms that they didn’t even know existed. On a freezing Saturday in January, a crowd of Wuthering Heights readers trekked out to P&T Knitwear, a bookstore on the Lower East Side, for an all-afternoon “read-in” hosted by romance publishing company 831 Stories and Belletrist, Emma Roberts’ online book club. Other than the six-foot-long fireplace GIF that flickered on a projector, there were no bells and whistles at the event: just 20-odd people reading, rapt. “I’m so locked in.
Aghast at the manipulation but enthralled,” said Aadi, a 23-year-old who works in publishing. The film adaptation of Wuthering Heights, directed by Emerald Fennell, arrives in theaters on February 13th, and it’s landing in the middle of a movie marketing moment that has grown increasingly unhinged. I can barely remember a time when a press tour didn’t match (or eclipse) a film in spectacle, or how people sold a movie before Barbenheimer.
Since then, studios have hawked the Wicked x Le Creuset collection of Glinda and Elphaba dutch ovens, Anora thongs, the terrifying Dune: Part Two popcorn bucket, and, most recently, Charli XCX’s The Moment puffers (a winterized celeb-status-film promo jacket to replace the now tired Marty Supreme bomber). The Las Vegas Sphere, which just over a month ago belonged to Timmy, is now Melania’s. By skillfully positioning Wuthering Heights as must-see Valentine’s Day fodder, Warner Brothers has taken the capitalism of it all to a whole new level.
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The article discusses a marketing strategy that leverages literature for brand promotion, which is significant but not groundbreaking, making it moderately impactful and relevant for brand strategy professionals.