How Expensify landed primo placement in Brad Pitt’s blockbuster movie ‘F1’

From its first trailer, it was crystal clear that Apple was serious about making its blockbuster ode to car racing as realistic as possible. It was shot in and around an actual Formula One season. Legendary driver Lewis Hamilton was a producer and consultant. And Brad Pitt’s fictional F1 team had a large collection of very real brand partners and sponsors. 

One of if not the most visible is expense management software brand Expensify. It’s on the car, it’s on the helmet, it’s emblazoned across Brad Pitt’s chest. Damson Idris’s character actually shoots an Expensify commercial in the film. Idris also showed up to the Met Gala in the racing suit. This is 1,000-horsepower product placement.

On this episode of Brand New World, I talk to Expensify’s chief financial officer Ryan Schaffer, and Hannes Ciatti, founder and head creative at ad agency Alto, who give me a look under the hood of how the brand got such a prominent role in what is shaping up to be Apple’s first hit film. 

Schaffer says that the brand is almost omnipresent in the film by nature of its placement as a F1 sponsor, but that the level of exposure around the film was unexpected. Things like the Don Tolliver/Doja Cat music video, or the fact the Expensify logo pops up in every other brand sponsor’s promo materials, have made it already worth the investment. 

“We have 20 companies right now promoting our logo. Other companies much larger than ours are promoting our logo, not on purpose, but we can’t help but be there by nature of this sponsorship. Heineken’s running a spot we’re in, and we’ve never spoken to them.”

Industry debrief

We recorded this episode in late June, as most of the advertising, marketing, and brand industry was fresh off the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity. That’s where brands, marketers, ad agencies, tech companies, platforms, entertainment, sports, or anyone who is part of the brand world ecosystem lands in the South of France to celebrate the previous year and make deals for the months ahead.  

To make sense of it all, or at least a good portion of it, I called up Tim Nudd, the creativity editor at Advertising Age, and a journalist who’s been covering and commenting on this industry for longer than almost anyone. Inside scoops, gossip, or just good stories, Nudd and I talked about what impressed him most, surprised him, and what he’s hearing we can expect from major brands heading into the second half of the year. 

Check it out here, or wherever you get your podcasts.