Marty Supreme Christmas Day”, “Dream Big”… Not only did these phrases pervade Instagram during the 2025 Christmas season, but sightings of celebrities in big and bold “Marty Supreme” jackets were sprouting rapidly. Was the public confused? Yes. Were critics confused? No. Marty Supreme was awarded “Best Screenplay” at the New York Film Critics Circle Awards, recognised as one of the top 10 films of 2025 by the American Film Institute, and Timotheé Chalamet took home “Best Actor” at the Critics Choice Awards.
January 4, 2026 Timothée Chalamet wins “Best Actor” at the 31st Annual Critics Choice Awards
Photo: JC Olivera/Variety via Getty Images
A24’s marketing genius: Tinder profiles, creepy dolls and all…
Marty Supreme’s intrigue goes beyond Timothée Chalamet’s wardrobe’s retro revamp. A24, the studio behind the film, embraced an unconventional marketing strategy that spanned promotional activities, merchandise, offline events, and cross-media collaborations, building Marty Supreme’s cultural momentum.
Cinephiles are no strangers to A24’s strategies, which are low on budget and high on creativity. Instead of investing in the traditional marketing model, such as television spots and talk show appearances, A24 tapped into Internet culture. They strategise specifically for their target audience to generate buzz.
Notable examples include the campaign for Ex Machina (2015), in which they created a Tinder profile for AI robot Ava, allowing SXSW festival attendees to converse with her if they matched on Tinder. For the horror film Hereditary (2018), those who watched the midnight screening were sent creepy dolls. To promote Materialists (2025), A24 actualised its plot by working with the New York Stock Exchange, displaying bachelors’ data on the live ticker, mirroring how this data would become “romantic value” in the film. These unconventional methods are centred on creating real experiences for the audience, rather than having them passively receive information, allowing them to understand the core themes of the films more deeply.
Marty Supreme = Greatness
As for Marty Supreme, the movie loosely follows how Marty Mauser became a legendary ping pong player, emphasising the spirit of “greatness”. A24 pushed the theme in all marketing strategies, including screenings, offline pop-ups, and merchandise, closing the distance between the film and the audience.
These are some of the highlights during the Marty Supreme campaign:
#1 Leaked Zoom meeting
A24 ‘leaked’ a Zoom recording to their YouTube channel, titling it the way a desktop document would be. In the video, Chalamet mirrors a delusional boss proposing unhinged plans, which were met with awkward responses by the marketing team…The Office came to mind.
In fact, Chalamet was mirroring his ambitious character Marty Mauser. What’s interesting is that the laughably absurd plans, such as creating an orange blimp and being the cover of Wheaties’ cereal box, actually materialised. The ping pong between fiction and reality keeps things exciting for fans.
#2 Orange = Ping pong balls
In the fake Zoom meeting, Chalamet proposes using “hardcore, corroded, falling apart, rusted” orange as the focal point. He references the virality of the Barbie movie’s pink and Charli XCX’s Brat green, and emphasises how orange echoes the colour of ping pong balls. Whether promoting the film in a ping pong-shaped helmet or attending the film screening in matching orange outfits with his girlfriend Kylie Jenner, Chalamet cemented the film’s link to the colour.
December 8, 2025 Timothée Chalamet and Kylie Jenner attending the Los Angeles Premiere of Marty Supreme
Photo: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic
#3 Limited edition Marty Supreme, as seen on celebrities
A24 understands its young audience—they are not only digital natives, but consumers who are willing to invest time and money into the trendiest items. The studio released a 90s-style “Marty Supreme” jacket, aligning with the recent vintage fashion trend. Afterwards, they sold them through flash sales and offered limited-time events, turning the jacket into viral resale gold, creating another hot topic.
At the same time, the A24 team seeded the jacket among celebrities like Kendall Jenner, Tom Brady, and Kid Cudi. American swimmer Michael Phelps and science education television host Bill Nye also donned the jacket, showing how A24 tapped into all realms of American culture. Timothée Chalamet even mentioned Susan Boyle, the unassuming lady who chased her dreams on Britain’s Got Talent. A24 later posted a photo of Boyle wearing the Marty Supreme jacket, emphasising the theme “Dream Big”. (During Christmas, The Beatles’ Ringo Starr joined in!)
#4 The first person atop the Sphere!
Before New Year’s Eve, Chalamet posted an instantly-viral video: Positioned at 366-feet high, Chalamet declared, “Marty Supreme is an American film that comes out on Christmas day 2025.” As the camera panned out, it became clear that Chalamet was standing on top of a giant ping-pong ball — with its 1.2 million LED pucks, the Sphere had completely transformed into a ginormous orange orb. Once again, the stunt emphasises the movie’s theme of ‘greatness’ and made Chalamet the first person in history to stand on top of the Sphere.
#5 All-rounded experience: Underground ping pong match, listening events
Besides online extravaganzas, A24 planned out-of-the-box offline experiences. In collaboration with Airbnb, they hosted an underground ping pong match rife with fun competition, and Chalamet made a surprise appearance. Plus, A24 hosted listening events in New York, London and Tokyo. Daniel Lopatin (otherwise known as Oneohtrix Point Never), a popular electronic music producer, composed the film score. He has a knack for recontextualising sounds from different eras, collaging them to form new sonic landscapes. With music, A24 attracted the music lover crowd, expanding its reach.
Through successive marketing campaigns that traversed the real and farcical, physical and virtual, A24 not only pushed Marty Supreme to the forefront of the Awards Season, but also proved its ability to orchestrate culture as a marketing strategy in place of traditional marketing models.