What We Can All Learn From the Problematic Promotion of ‘It Ends With Us’

Note: On December 21, 2024, Blake Lively sued Justin Baldoni for sexual harassment on the set of the film and The New York Times released an investigation of a Public Relations smear campaign orchestrated by The Agency Group across social media and the press.

A lesson in what not to do when marketing a story about abuse. [December 21, 2024: the NYT investigation revealed that Blake was following the marketing plan set for the cast by the studio, Sony. Therefore, the studio is responsible for the problematic promotion strategy, and Lively must have been limited due to contractual agreements on how much she could deviate from the strategy. While I feel like it is critical to have this newly revealed context, the elements outlined below still remain problematic when promoting a film about domestic violence].

What Went Wrong: Domestic Violence Was Not Centered in the Promotion

This film is about domestic violence. I watched it myself this past weekend and there are no ifs, ands, or buts about what this movie is about. The film illustrates how domestic violence is a pattern which is often born out of trauma earlier in life, and it shows how difficult it is to break away from an abuser who is an intimate partner. It ultimately shows that the cycle can be broken - hence the name, ‘It Ends With Us.’ 

However, despite the plot and issues covered in the film, the promotion of the film was handled as if it was a romantic comedy (rom com) rather than a film about abuse and generational trauma. 

The film’s social media had the film’s star, Blake Lively, telling viewers to “grab your friends, wear your florals, and go see the movie.” This message implies that this is a lighthearted movie, a rom com, chick flick - which it most definitely is not. 

All of the promotion done on Blake’s own social media up until just after the first weekend at the box office closed did not address the issue of domestic violence.

And then there was the issue of her interview responses to reporters and what she discussed in her interviews for the film. Generally, they were underwhelming, all over the place, and did not address the issue of abuse. Blake specifically told a reporter that the film “it’s not about domestic violence - it’s about this woman.” When asked how she would respond to people who approached her and wanted to engage on the topic of domestic violence, she turned her response into a joke about location sharing. 

Additionally, Blake very intentionally donned a floral wardrobe for all of the film’s promotional events which was an homage to her character Lily Blossom Bloom, who is obsessed with flowers and owns a floral shop in the movie. While this seemed to be an attempt to recreate the magic of Margot Robbie’s epic promotion wardrobe for the Barbie film last year, it fell flat. This was a misstep because it detracted from the issue at hand, domestic violence. The focus should not have been florals or fashion - the issue of domestic violence should have remained the focal point of the movie promotion to create awareness of the issue.  

Another misstep was recycling a vintage Versace dress worn by Britney Spears 20 years ago to the film’s premiere. A lot of time and energy at the premiere of the film were spent talking about the dress rather than about the issue of domestic violence. 

Further, Lively’s husband, Ryan Reynolds, joined her at the premiere, which in itself is not an issue, but Reynolds was also joined by Hugh Jackman, his co-star in ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ which is also currently in box offices. The ‘It Ends With Us’ premiere somehow turned into a dual promotion for both films which was inappropriate given what ‘It Ends With Us’ is about. The effort at cross promotion distracted from the core message of the film.

Finally, Blake used the ‘It Ends With Us’ promotion to cross promote her new haircare brand and some of her other brands. While piggybacking off of the earned media of the film and using that to amplify her personal brands may seem smart to the most corporate minded marketers and PR flacks amongst us, it was tacky and inappropriate given the serious issues covered in the film.   

The shit did hit the fan early last week, just as the first weekend at the box office closed. It was swift and has been relentless. [December 21, 2024: the NYT investigation has revealed that Blake was following the marketing plan set for the cast by the studio and that Justin’s team intentionally orchestrated the blowback on social media in alleged retaliation for her complaints about his sexual harassment on set].

Many TikToks and social media posts called out the problematic promotion of the film. In response, Blake shared Instagram stories about domestic violence and abuse and resources for how to get help. To date, there are still no permanent in feed posts about domestic violence that have been shared with Blake’s 45 million Instagram followers. Her Instagram bio and link promotes her brands and businesses, a stark contrast from her co-star, Justin Baldoni, who not only has in feed posts about domestic violence, but has also updated his Instagram bio and links to center the issue and provide resources for DV survivors. [December 21, 2024: the NYT investigation has revealed that Baldoni intentionally deviated from the studio’s marketing plan to allegedly protect his image in response to the complaints Lively has made against him].

Of note, the co-stars do not get along with one another, a rift that initially appeared to be driven by differences in creative vision and wanting control of the film. [December 21, 2024: the NYT investigation reveals the rift is rooted in the issues on set during filming and the alleged sexual harassment Lively experienced from Baldoni].

What Can We Learn From the ‘It Ends With Us’ Promotion Debacle?

• Certain issues must be centered and cannot be minimized, romanticized, or distracted from. The purpose of telling these stories is to create awareness of these issues so that our society can change. Distracting from that goal and mission is a disservice to society and people can recognize that. 

• It’s not always about you. It’s not always appropriate to cross promote campaigns, projects, or yourself even if the opportunity presents itself. Do the work and due diligence of educating yourself on the subject matter and experience and embodying the self awareness to draw the right boundaries.

• Audiences are smart and they will call you out. We are in an era in which people crave authenticity and call out bullshit. And with TikTok and Twitter, they do it at scale. Following the points made above will help you avoid audience backlash that could badly damage your brand. 

If you have been impacted by domestic violence, there is help available. Confidential support is available 24/7 at the National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233.