What Brands Can Learn From Films Like Wicked

'Creating an identity that feels like a cultural shorthand'

Wicked, Barbie, Saltburn, Challengers—objectively very different films, but with one thing in common: box office success driven by their mastery of the art of “talkability.”

Building on its opening weekend netting $164 million, Wicked has already become the highest-grossing global debut of a Broadway adaptation.  

Some of that was thanks to the musical’s preexisting cult following. But moreover, Wicked’s success is linked to its tension points. By addressing tricky, hyper-current topics, films like this help catalyze positive cultural shifts. They show that we should embrace our differences, not sweep them under the carpet.   

Tension makes for talkability—and in the age of social media, talkability is vital for success. Brands can learn a lot from how films like Wicked are achieving it. 

Colorful world-building  

Wicked’s signature green and Barbie’s pink not only pay homage to the movies’ protagonists; they became instantly recognizable brand assets like Cadbury’s purple or Coca-Cola’s red.   

These films and brands elevated their ownable hues beyond color—they’ve become evocative cultural signposts.   

A brand world defined by a signature shade makes for instant recognition. Take Glossier’s smart merging of pastel pink and Insta-ready, sans serif-laden minimalism—two of the biggest (and most “millennial-coded”) design trends of recent years.   

The best brand design understands that the goal with a signature color isn’t just aesthetic coherence; it’s about creating an identity that feels like a cultural shorthand.  

Embrace dissonance  

Coherence, in fact, is often the antithesis of what makes certain films so talked about. Instead, “water cooler” films are often captivating precisely because they’re slightly off-kilter. They mix and match cues from disparate genres.  

Saltburn, at a glance, seems to fuse familiar, somewhat benign tropes. These include a preppy snapshot of university life the eccentricities of English upper classes and tales of young love and infatuation.   

But the film’s “talkability” is born of combining those elements with unexpected, far darker narratives. A country mansion becomes a setting for sex, drugs, murder and abject disgust—all shot in the style of a romantic arthouse flick.   

Similarly, Barbie struck a balance between camp, humor and poignancy, creating an experience that resonates with a broad audience. By mashing together cultural cues and contrasting genres, the film created a layered experience that kept audiences talking.   

Dissonance makes for instant intrigue and “stickiness.” It’s the same for brands. It might seem counterintuitive, but blending genres, styles or even product categories works.    

Liquid Death, for instance, turned canned water into an irreverent lifestyle statement. Vacation made sunscreen cool by packaging it with a retro aesthetic and playful branding. Minor Figures shattered convention by using retro illustrations that look more suited to 1960s public-information pamphlets than plant milk. Engine Gin blurs categories with its motor-oil-inspired bottle design.     

The key is to take something ordinary and make it extraordinary, engaging audiences by recontextualizing the familiar with moments of surprise and delight.   

Creating ‘vibes‘  

The collage-like merging of genre conventions is vital in creating a hyper-distinctive vibe.

Vibes are tricky to engineer. They’re ultimately abstract, and more than the sum of their parts. It isn’t just the dialogue, costume aesthetics and music choices. It’s the alignment of numerous assets, each imbued with meaning in some way.   

For brands, a vibe is often born of merging dissonant categories and ideas. This Nike ad, for instance, isn’t selling a product. It’s selling a sensibility—the arc from struggle to perseverance to triumph.   

The vibe has little to do with Nike’s iconic logo, or the campaign’s font choice. Rather, multiple elements unite to form an unexpected take on the usual language of the sports category.  

Likewise, Youthforia’s cosmetics are innovative in merging makeup and skincare—an objectively serious proposition packaged in a brand language that’s playful, fun and bold.

Meaningful creative vehicles  

Films are increasingly using familiar characters and narrative arcs as a means to explore complex, potentially divisive topics. They serve as meaningful cultural icebreakers, helping us to discuss those tricky, hot-potato topics through a new lens. They let people can lean into tensions that have reached a boiling point—often around identity.  

Take Wicked’s exploration of LGBTQ+ themes, race and more; Saltburn’s dramatization of class, inequality and sexuality; or Barbie’s reinterpretation of a girlie childhood icon through the lens of contemporary feminism.   

Tensions are compelling—neat resolution or completion less so. Smart brands, like smart movies, harness this dynamic. They mirror tension points in our lives and reflecting them back at us.  

In an age where social media algorithms actively encourage outrage, divisiveness and antagonism, it’s especially powerful when brands and movies function as creative vehicles to spark significant conversations.  

With Patagonia, its commitment to sustainability turned its business model into a rallying cry. Or look at Starface’s transformation of acne from embarrassment to colorful, cute statement.  

When brands champion the ideas and issues that matter most to their audiences they naturally foster deeper connections and loyalty.    

Making the mundane magical  

As films like Wicked and Barbie have shown, the art of “talkability” lies in creating experiences that resonate. Like the smartest brands, they build visually distinctive worlds that combine familiar elements with unexpected twists.   

Such worlds are obviously imaginary—the Barbie-verse couldn’t be further from reality. But such escapist realms lead to the dramatization of tensions, and no one gets hurt.  

Brands’ visual worlds, too, are effectively made up. But like those in the movies, offer a rich safe space in which to address difficult issues.  

Films create intrigue and conversation by turning the mundane into the magical. And crucially, they use their platform to champion ideas and issues that matter to their audiences, fostering connection in an increasingly fragmented world.  

Much like a hit film, a great brand doesn’t just sell. It creates a world people want to explore, inhabit and talk about.