South Africa, Aug. 5 -- According to Deadline, the film's promotional partner push has generated a worldwide media value of $309m, eclipsing Sony's own previous high of $288m set by Spider-Man: Far From Home back in 2019. That figure covers 165 participating brands, and it excludes any revenue from licensing and merchandise, which Disney holds separately. Sony's EVP of brand strategy and global partnerships, Jeffrey Godsick, described the film as an "8-to-80-years-old" property, and the campaign was built to speak to several audiences at once rather than chase a single demographic.

That scale is the headline. Underneath it are two separate arguments, and marketers keep collapsing them into one.

Argument one: Placement, not just presence...