Why the failure of Melania's documentary is good news for the advertising industry

As a Brit, when the US President threatened to invade the territory of a NATO ally earlier this month, I spent a solid 24 hours preparing to boycot American businesses. The more I looked into it, though, the more difficult it seemed. 

As a working journalist, I realised that Facebook, Google, Apple, even Netflix could be hard to step away from. Some options, though, were more feasible. I could live without Coke, McDonald's, Pringles. Maybe even stick to my bank card and drop PayPal.

Ultimately, it was a spectrum. And right at the far end of that spectrum – the easiest thing in the world to abstain from – was Melania's documentary. 

The vanity project nobody asked for

For those who remain blissfully unaware, Melania is Brett Ratner's glossy documentary movie following the First Lady during the 20 days before Donald Trump's second inauguration. It's the director's first film since multiple women accused him of sexual misconduct in 2017.

Melania herself served as executive producer, held editorial control, approved the trailer, selected the music, oversaw colour correction, managed the advertising campaign, and even designed the logo. If that doesn't scream "vanity project", I don't know what does.

Amazon MGM Studios paid $40 million for the rights ($28 million of which went straight to Melania) and threw another $35 million at marketing. That's $75 million in total. The film opens this weekend across more than 100 UK cinemas and 1,400 screens in the US. Donald Trump himself was promoting it on Truth Social, insisting tickets are "selling out, FAST!"

Except they weren't. Not even close.

Two days before Vue's flagship Islington branch in London held its premiere screening of the film, only one person had bought a ticket. One. The news got out and, as you can imagine, the international press had a field day.

Elsewhere, Cineworld Wandsworth had only managed four tickets. Cineworld Broughton had sold five. Many reported selling none at all. Vue's CEO Tim Richards diplomatically told the press that UK sales had been "soft". And for me, this is where it gets interesting for anyone working in advertising.

Numbers marketing can't fix

We've all had them: the clients who think a clever campaign can sell anything. The product nobody wants. The rebrand that misses the point entirely. The tone-deaf message at precisely the wrong moment. We nod, we brainstorm, we present our best work, and sometimes—just sometimes—we pull off miracles. But if we don't, we get blamed.

Yet here's what Melania's documentary teaches us: there is a limit. There is a point where no amount of money, no celebrity endorsement, no marketing genius can make people want something they fundamentally don't want.

Think about it. Amazon is a world-dominating, data-driven megacorporation. They have AI, analytics and algorithms that can predict consumer behaviour with frightening accuracy. They researched this. They crunched the numbers. They still got it catastrophically wrong.

Because some products exist beyond the reach of advertising. They're not bad products that need better positioning. They're not misunderstood products that need clearer messaging. They're products that shouldn't exist as commercial ventures in the first place.

When to walk away

So why is this good news? Because I think there's a curious freedom in accepting that not every brief is winnable. Not every client should be taken on. Not every product deserves our best efforts to convince the public they want it.

And let's be clear. The truly skilled advertisers—the ones with long, sustainable careers—know how to spot these doomed ventures. They know when to politely decline, when to manage expectations, and when to admit that no amount of creative brilliance will shift the needle.

So perhaps that's the lesson here. In an industry that prides itself on problem-solving and persuasion, sometimes the smart move is recognising the problem can't be solved, and audiences that simply won't be persuaded. Even with $75 million behind them, some battles are best left unfought.