Bob Iger is on a mission to make Disney profitable again — so, for the Mouse House’s centennial … he made the entire company fall into formation to telegraph his vision.
As you might’ve heard by now, this year marks a big milestone for the mega-corporation… they’re 100 years old, and BI — who’s the newly reinstated CEO once again — whipped up a nifty little Super Bowl spot that’s set to air during the game, which he also released early.
Today I want to share this video, which celebrates the @WaltDisneyCo‘s 100 year milestone. We are enormously grateful to our storytellers, our cast members and our fans. Thank you and enjoy. #Disney100 pic.twitter.com/LowCx9t2Iv
— Robert Iger (@RobertIger) February 12, 2023
@RobertIger
In an accompanying caption to the minute-and-a-half clip, Bob writes … “Today I want to share this video, which celebrates the @WaltDisneyCo’s 100-year milestone. We are enormously grateful to our storytellers, our cast members and our fans. Thank you and enjoy. #Disney100.”
As for what’s in the spot itself … a highlight compilation reel full of snippets and stills from their massive vault of content over the years, which is mixed with footage of fans (especially little kids) dressed up as their favorite Disney characters and enjoying the parks.
You made this dream come true. #Disney100 pic.twitter.com/M0KiGSBp63
— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) February 12, 2023
@MarvelStudios
It’s a cool tribute to what Disney’s offered/accomplished — but what’s even more striking (at least for the Twitter users of the world) is seeing just how big the Disney umbrella actually is … as just about every single Disney-owned subsidiary tweeted this same video out.
They all also feature the exact same caption … “You made this dream come true.” All official Disney accounts — touching everything from Marvel to Star Wars and Disney Animation to Pixar, as well as the different parks around the world — have posted this, all in unison.
Habéis hecho este sueño realidad. #Disney100 pic.twitter.com/lK4QVmCUc8
— Disney España (@DisneySpain) February 12, 2023
@DisneySpain
If you scroll through the #Disney100 trend, you’ll see just how many properties Disney owns … it’s upwards of at least a couple dozen, which puts Disney’s reach into perspective. It also makes ya realize how big a load Iger’s got on his plate when it comes to righting the ship.
ICYMI … Iger was tapped once more late last year after Bob Chapek was pushed out — this after the Board of Directors apparently felt he wasn’t serving the company’s best interests.
Since then, Iger has made some big business decisions to get the stock price back up … including laying off thousands of employees and shifting the structure of the company to focus on creative storytelling from the ground up, while looking for more savings.
Iger has also hinted at the possibility of Hulu potentially getting the boot in a would-be sale — so it sounds like he’s considering any and everything to shore up cash … this after a few years of Disney struggling to reap significant profits.
And don’t get us started on all the culture war stuff Disney’s been mired in of late — that’s another headache they’ve been dealing with … and will probably continue to battle. Not to mention a proxy war he’s in with overzealous board members — a whole other problem.
At any rate, it’s pretty clear where Iger’s focus is with this SB spot here … he wants to get back in touch with the creators, fans and workers, who kinda make this thing go ’round.
With the united front that’s Disney showing, it seems he’s back in the captain’s chair and wants to communicate calm waters ahead. Gotta put that smile on, tough times be damned!