Kevin Hart Shakes Up Hollywood—and Madison Avenue

There’s being stretched thin, and then there’s Kevin Hart’s current schedule. The actor/comedian/media mogul/entrepreneur extraordinaire is phoning in for a chat at the end of yet another overstuffed day. That morning, he flew to Atlanta from Charlotte, N.C., where he performed the previous night during his 70-city Reality Check standup U.S. tour. Then he put in a 12-hour production day on the set of Die Hart, his comedy series originally made for Quibi that became a hit after migrating to Roku in 2021. (Season 2 will be called—what else?—Die Harter.) And following his late-evening Adweek chat, Hart is going to hit the gym before preparing to do it all again tomorrow. His already jam-packed itinerary also includes frequent meetings to nurture his new global media company Hartbeat, liquor line Gran Coramino, plant-based fast-food restaurant Hart House, media deals and acting and producing with several outlets—including Netflix, SiriusXM, Audible, Peacock, E!, BET+ and FX—along with a slew of long-running brand partnerships—among them: Chase, DraftKings, Old Spice and Sam’s Club. With all that in mind, it’s a wonder that Hart—whose resumé includes hit film franchises like Jumanji, Ride Along and The Secret Life of Pets—is able to maintain his trademark kinetic demeanor. As he understates, “There’s not a lot of downtime in this period.” But his passion and drive—not to mention prolific output—also make him one of Hollywood’s most-coveted and successful marketers, brand partners and producers. Hart talked with Adweek about the $100 million bet on Hartbeat; what he looks for (and avoids) when it comes to brand partnerships; what he learned from his rare career stumble when he stepped down as Oscar host in 2018 after old homophobic tweets resurfaced; and how he honed his marketing mindset. Here are highlights from our conversation: (This interview has been condensed and edited.) Adweek: There’s so much to talk about, so let’s start with Hartbeat, which you formed after merging your Laugh Out Loud and HartBeat Productions entities earlier this year. Why did you want to make such a big move, and why was now the time to do it?Kevin Hart: We had a very profitable company in Laugh Out Loud and in HartBeat Productions. And we saw the unique opportunity of bringing these entities together and reconfiguring our org chart and our staff in a way where we can be the full-fledged media company that we felt we could be. At this point, it's about IP: developing IP, creating IP, owning IP. And we were doing that through the worlds of audio, television, film and literature. We're also doing advertising. There's a multilayered component to the business that goes around us, and it's about expanding off of the business that is Kevin Hart into the business of this generation of today and tomorrow. As part of the new venture, you raised $100 million from Abry Partners. Do you feel added pressure with an investment of that size in Hartbeat?There is no pressure. I think the beautiful thing in partnership is getting someone who believes in you, and Abry is that. They’ve already allowed us to tap into an infrastructure that they had, that's helped us clean up our world of business already. The goal is to scale, and that's what the $100 million is for: to hire the personnel we know that's necessary to help us get to these next stages of business. Hartbeat includes a branded content studio, Hartbeat Pulse. You’ve had successful brand partnerships for years, but as you expand to this new level, what is your approach to working with brands?Right now, I think it's all strategic. The business of Kevin Hart is one thing, but the business of the company is another. And what we now as a company are doing is positioning ourselves to show we are a very valuable asset for the partnerships I've had to date. And not just for the Kevin endorsement. We can produce and generate the high level of engagement based on content we present, which can be a valuable asset to a brand. So my partners, such as Samsung, Chase, DraftKings, Fabletics, Hydrow, that are heavy into the infrastructure of Kevin, it's saying to them, "In doing business with me, let us show you what we can do on a larger scale." And then the goal is to get in with those companies and overall do these things for them and many more. What do you look for in a brand that tells you it's the right partner for you?It has to be aligned with my life and how I operate. I don't just throw my name on something because the opportunity is there. You want the ability to grow and tell a story with the brand. That should be the overall agenda. Through these years, what's our progression? What can we look back on and show that we did? Through my relationship with Chase, it’s financial literacy: to put people in a position to better understand finances and ultimately not experience debt. And I love the stories we're telling, from Advancing Black Pathways [to enhance career opportunities] to [their financial initiative] Hart of It All. These are things where you can look back and see the story you've told over the course of time that's grown and developed into something special. The same thing with Fabletics, Sam’s Club, DraftKings. That’s what it’s about for me: the story. It's not about the one-off. I need things that will last. I think that's what great partnerships are about. Kevin Hart Never Stops From media platforms to brand partnerships, here’s a sampling of his global reach: MEDIA COMPANY His new global media company, Hartbeat, which merged his two entertainment entities Laugh Out Loud and HartBeat Productions, includes Hartbeat Studios (finances and produces content), Hartbeat Media (events, gaming and Web3 initiatives) and Hartbeat Pulse (branded content studio). ENTERTAINMENT Saeed Adyani/Netflix Peacock He has expansive deals with Netflix (new comedy film Me Time), SiriusXM (hosting on the audio platform’s Laugh Out Loud channel) and Audible (new audiobook Monsters and How to Tame Them: Taking Charge of the Voices in Your Head). Plus, there are projects at Peacock (his Hart to Heart talk show and Olympics Highlights specials with Snoop Dogg), Roku (comedy series Die Hart), E! (hosting game show Celebrity Game Face) and BET+ (limited series revival of Real Husbands of Hollywood). And on the flip slide, what are the red flags that could derail a potential brand partnership?The biggest red flags are one-sided relationships. Where it's a heavy handshake from one palm and not the other, and there's not a rapport and a back and forth. In August, you opened Hart House, your vegan fast-food restaurant in LA. What inspired you to go in this new direction?I’m what I would call a flexitarian: I don't eat red meat, pork or seafood, but I still eat chicken, and I like plant-based foods. And this business that's grown to be a multibillion-dollar business, it's not as easy to find as it should be. The options aren't right in front of your face, and the price points attached to them aren't always good. At [most fast-food chains], for plant-based lovers, you get one or maybe two sandwiches on the menu, and they are at an $11 or $12 price point. I want to give a plant-based customer the experience of something being all plant-based [at a $6-$7 price point]. Is the hope that this will be the first of many Hart House restaurants you open?That’s not a hope; that's what I'm doing. We hope before the new year to have at least another four to five open; we're being very bullish. And the results of our first one have been amazing. These days, you learn as you grow, and I can only hope that we'll stay here on this path. Earlier this year, you also rolled out a tequila line, Gran Coramino. How did that come about?You're talking about almost four years of development. I've been offered things in the alcohol space for quite some time, but it was never the world of allowing me to develop [the brand]. And in this case, the opportunity to develop and partner with someone that had so much experience is what was necessary. And Juan Domingo [Beckmann], who's done so much in the space and has had so much success, allowed me to come in as a partner and really develop not only the liquid, not only the look, but the real definition behind our brand. It was very collaborative. I said, "Look, as a guy that wants to be an owner and a true partner, I'm willing to put my money where my mouth is and do all the work. But I want to know I have something that's significant and stands out from what else is available." That’s where the idea came to develop a cristalino [tequila], which is a clear reposado first, and make sure that we had a price point that was in a very special place: a $60 bottle. And we knocked it out of the park. Once again, the feedback has been amazing. And now we just dropped our anejo, which I'm extremely excited about as well. And that bottle's at a $100 price point, but it's a world of change when it comes to taste. It's about being significantly different in a space that can be deemed as crowded. With so many projects on your plate, how do you juggle everything? What are your big keys to multitasking?I'm a workaholic, man. I'll admit it. I embrace it. I love multitasking. I also look at life now as like, "Hey, man, you only get one of them, and in that one life, how much stuff do you want to say you did when it's all said and done?" For me, it's a beautiful thing to think about the story that can be attached to my name when it's all said and done. Coming from where I come from, we don't get these opportunities. I’m not supposed to be here. So when you do get the shot, and being here, it's like, “Well, fuck, you let me in the door. How many other doors are there that I don't know?” I don't have to be content with just a little bit of it. If I feel like I can go get a lot of it—and I feel like I can break ground for not just me now, but my kids and then my kids’ kids—well, I'm changing something significant. I'm starting a trend of what can be something massive. But are you concerned about how long you can go on at this pace without burning out?Of course. Look, I'm not Iron Man. Everything has a lifespan. You want to give yourself the world of opportunity, but within reason. So I'm not trying to run myself ragged. I do have family and I want the most for them, but at the same time, you want to be around them as well. So what's the timeline of that? When do you make that decision? All of that stuff is TBD. BRANDS Hart has longtime partnerships with companies like Chase, DraftKings, Fabletics (he convinced the formerly female-only label to expand into menswear), Hydrow, Old Spice, Sam’s Club and C4 Energy Drinks. NEW VENTURES Gran Coramino Hart House His new tequila line, Gran Coramino, debuted in May and the plant-based QSR Hart House opened in August in LA. You know, the idea of comedians doing arenas, it didn't exist until the comedian did it. You look at Eddie [Murphy], [Andrew] Dice Clay, Steve Martin, all of those guys back in the day, somebody had to break the ground of what the idea of comedy being enjoyed in a massive way was. And after they did it, then it became something that people said, "Yeah, this is [what people do] all the time." But if the person doesn't step out and try to do the unexpected, then you will find yourself in a place of redundancy. So for me, being a workaholic, having all these businesses and entities, it’s all based off the idea of: Why not? Why can't I do it? Why should I be focused on only one thing? That said, is there anything out there you would still like to do that you haven’t accomplished yet?There's tons! I would love Gran Coramino to be a global brand. I would love Hartbeat to be a pipeline in the space of media that is instantly noticed and aligned with success and stardom. I would love to launch and propel the stars of tomorrow. I would love for Hart House to be a global fast-food chain, for Fabletics to grow and be an international conglomerate that sits beside Nike and Adidas in a major way. These aren't far-fetched from reality; these are all realistic goals. At age 43, I've checked off a lot of boxes, and I'm trying to check off more. And it's only a matter of time before these things happen.

Programming & Performance

With His New Global Media Company, Kevin Hart Shakes Up Hollywood—and Madison Avenue

The comedy icon and most-coveted brand partner shares his marketing secrets

Jason Lynch

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Jason Lynch