There is a particular kind of comedy that emerges when a fictional character's insult becomes a real corporation's marketing opportunity. In "The Devil Wears Prada 2," Mr. Tucci's Nigel greets Anne Hathaway's returning Andy with the line, "Look what TJ Maxx dragged in." The discount retailer, rather than taking offense, has embraced the moment with a new advertising campaign starring Mr. Tucci himself.
The campaign was produced by Maximum Effort, the agency founded by Ryan Reynolds that has made a specialty of this sort of self-aware brand jujitsu. Mr. Tucci told The Hollywood Reporter that he found the concept "so funny, smart," adding, "If you can go to a store and buy designer goods for a lot less and you're gonna get them in the shop itself, I have no problem with that!"
The actor, who has played the Runway magazine art director in both films, offered what might be the campaign's unofficial tagline: "Nigel is no millionaire. He just has the taste of one."
(One imagines the line tested well in focus groups.)
The collaboration arrives as the sequel, released May 1, positions itself as something more than a fashion-world reunion. Mr. Tucci described the film's engagement with the uncertain future of magazines and journalism as central to his interest in returning. "There are a lot of odds stacked against journalists, magazines and newspapers now because of AI and our phones," he said. "The lack of a need for in-depth content is starting to disappear."
Asked what frightens him about the current media landscape, Mr. Tucci did not discuss advertising budgets or subscription models. He talked about plumbers. "People are starting to go back into trades," he said, "because those are the jobs that are going to exist."
For TJ Maxx, of course, the jobs that exist include being insulted on screen and turning it into a marketing campaign. In the current economy, that may be its own kind of trade.
Original story published in The Hollywood Reporter: "Stanley Tucci on Returning for 'Devil Wears Prada 2,' the Film's Take on New Media and How That TJ Maxx Line Led to a Collab"