promotions

(Gracie Films)

Oscar-winning writer/director James L. Brooks’s latest film, Ella McCay is being released soon, and he’s enlisted some old friends to help him market it: the Simpsons.

As of this posting, The Simpsons‘s social media accounts have posted about the film three times. One post has a video with Julie Kavner, the voice of Marge who also has a role in the film, introducing a trailer. In the video, James L. Brooks is identified as “co-creator” of The Simpsons, which is a little eyebrow-raising, given Matt Groening is the sole credited creator. OK, maybe “co-creator” is a little more descriptive to the average person than the nebulous title of “executive producer,” and Brooks did develop the show alongside Groening and the late Sam Simon, so maybe all three should be considered creators. Nevertheless, it’s not a great look for a multi-millionaire Hollywood legend to be grabbing a little more credit for himself decades later. Or are they soft-launching Brooks as the true visionary behind the show in the event Groening suddenly has to withdraw from public appearances…?

Another post features a poster for the film with the cast drawn in Simpsons style, with the caption “They’re not from Springfield, but they’d fit right in.” Would they? Seems like kind of a reach.

The latest post features a particularly shameless animated promo where Lisa and Marge exit a theater gushing about how great the film was. “It’s a very terrific movie,” Marge opines, while Lisa is ecstatic that “finally a movie gets me.” It’s reminiscent of the Riverdale episode where characters go see Love, Simon, a film coincidentally directed by the show’s executive producer.

Both The Simpsons and Ella McCay are produced by Brooks’s company Gracie Films, and the film is being distributed by Disney under the 20th Century Studios label, so maybe a little corporate synergy is to be expected. The Simpsons is, of course, no stranger to promotion – Bart was hawking Butterfingers before the series even premiered – but it’s intensified since Disney acquired 20th Century Fox. The show started pumping out promotional shorts for Balenciaga, Bad Bunny, opera superstar Andrea Bocelli and more, for which they’ve won multiple advertising industry awards. Last month, there were even two couch gags involving Fortnite in the show itself, promoting the Simpsons-themed Fortnite season.

Nor is this the first time Brooks has used the show to push his other projects. A couple years ago, Marge was featured in a promo for the Gracie-produced adaptation of Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret. And perhaps the Ella McCay campaign is not as egregious as the time Brooks insisted on doing a crossover with The Critic, another Gracie-produced animated sitcom, over objections from the staff (including Groening, who ultimately had his credit removed from the episode, for which Brooks publicly called him an ingrate).

Nevertheless, the Ella McCay cross-promotion still seems a little brazen, even considering everything. There was never an episode where Homer convinces Marge to see Spanglish. Ultimately, Brooks is the boss, and he gets what he wants. Maybe he’ll get the stars of Ella McCay to return the favor and promote the next Simpsons movie, which has just been pushed back to September 2027.