On May 22nd to promote the release of X-Men: Days of Future Past, XFM ‘infused’ it’s DNA with the movie, mutating to become X-Men FM.
Everything rebranded. All on-air station imaging, weather idents, the website, social media platforms, even the Electronic Programme Guide displays on DAB and car radios.
Cast interviews featured throughout the day and Hugh Jackman co-hosted the X-Men FM breakfast show.
It wasn’t just on-air content that changed. All regular advertising was removed, and replaced by ads for official brand partners (Virgin Trains, Mountain Dew, Pizza Hut, Pringles, Hyper X) alongside ‘spoof’ commercials for fictional advertisers inspired by the franchise; including Mystique Boutique, Professor Xavier’s School of Higher Learning, TRASK Industries and X-date – a dating service for mutants to find their own X-man or X-woman.
To reflect the film’s time-travelling theme, 2 ads ran which sounded like they’d been plucked from the past. 1970’s and 80’s production techniques were used to produce commercials for the Wolverine six-blade razor, and Beast aftershave (‘for the man who’s more than a man’)
X-Men FM proved a great success, 100% of surveyed listeners noticed that the station sounded different, with 94% recalling it was for the launch of a new X-Men film. 78% of listeners said they loved the ads and 68% said that they would definitely watch / consider watching the film.
20th Century Fox considered X-Men FM to be a “real highlight of our campaign” and “the best thing we’ve done on radio”. X-Men FM contributed towards the biggest X-Men opening in the UK and 20th Century Fox’s 2nd biggest opening weekend ever.