advertising Tagged Articles at Cinematical
The Exhibitionist: Return of Smell-O-Vision
Filed under: Exhibition », Columns »
Moviegoing seems to be living in the past these days, as both 3-D and large format projection have become attractions at mainstream cinemas again, just as they were half a century ago. Of course, there are updated differences -- the new 3-D is digital and now employs glasses that don't give us headaches, and the large format presentation, IMAX (which is actually almost 40 years old and is technically not really similar at all to the Cinemascope, Cinerama, VistaVision, etc., which were used in the 1950s), is finally separating itself from its usual museum-set association to move into more multiplexes and offer more blockbusters, like the popcorns and sodas, appropriately super-sized.
So where is the return of that other, less successful, less fondly remembered novelty also implemented in desperate times to woo audiences away from their television? You know, that ridiculous idea that's so unappealing that it's a wonder it was even allowed to enter public awareness, let alone cement itself undeservedly onto the timeline of significant moments in film history. Smell-O-Vision. Where is the return of Smell-O-Vision?
'Evan Almighty' Director Clashes With Studio Over Advertising, Source Says
Filed under: Comedy », Universal », Remakes and Sequels »
When you're the producer/director of a movie that's been widely reported as wildly over-budget, you're going to get a little testy when the release date starts to roll around. But according to Nikki Finke, Evan Almighty maker Tom Shadyac recently "I'm not seeing any ads, and I don't know why. I'm not getting answers. People are giving me information that isn't true ... I'm only hearing about all the other summer movies, and nothing about mine," is what Mr. Shadyac complained about, according to Ms. Finke's unnamed source. The filmmaker even went as far as firing his long-time marketing consultants over the issue. Sounds to me like someone's getting his "this is why the movie flopped" excuses ready.
Tom Shadyac's other movies include Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, The Nutty Professor, Liar Liar, Patch Adams, Dragonfly and Bruce Almighty. Evan Almighty, which stars Steve Carell, Morgan Freeman, Lauren Graham and more CGI animals than you've ever seen before, opens on June 22.
Depressing Statistic: 53% of Moviegoers Don't Mind Pre-Movie Advertising
Filed under: Box Office », Distribution », Exhibition », Newsstand », Movie Marketing »
If ever there was a case of statistics being, how to put it politely, skewed, its showcased in this article in The Hollywood Reporter. According to a recent Arbitron survey which asked moviegoers their opinion of pre-movie advertising in theaters, a rather unbelievable 53% of "frequent" moviegoers -- those that attended more than five movies in the past three months -- said that advertising before a movie is acceptable. Compare that to the 46% of people who responded that TV advertising is acceptable.According to the article, the study also showed that 59% of moviegoers recall the experience of watching onscreen advertising before the movie on their last trip to the theater. To those statistics I just have to say "huh"? I don't know about you, but I and pretty much everyone I know find advertising before a movie to be very unacceptable. So much so that its one of the reasons I pretty much stopped going to regular theaters to see movies. That and the parents who insist on taking their five-year-old to R-rated films and then wonder why they keep crying.
Fortunately, there is still a theater here in Los Angeles that doesn't have adverting -- its called the Arclight and its the only place I will go, other than screenings, to see a film anymore. Now, I'm really trying not to be so negative these days but in my mind, the only thing these statistics, if true, seem to prove is that 53% of "frequent" moviegoers need to have their heads examined. They're probably the same rocket scientists who think Ghost Rider and Eragon are the epitome of cinematic excellence.
It's Gotta be the Oscars!
Filed under: Deals », Newsstand », Movie Marketing », Oscar Watch »
According to the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, they're totally changing their Oscar advertising approach this year. Which is good, because I don't think anyone has ever said "Man, that Oscar ad was GREAT! I wasn't planning on watching the ceremony, but seeing footage that little bald statue with a dramatic music behind it has totally changed my mind!"Instead of frantically pulling things together after the host is announced (which has been the policy in the past), the Academy has already hired Spike Lee -- yes, that Spike Lee -- to direct this year's campaign. Since the campaign will actually be shaped by ad agency TBWA\Chiat\Day -- a group that has been pursing the Oscars gig for three years -- it's unclear whether "direct" means "supervise," or actually be the man behind each of the spots. Whatever Lee's role, we can only hope it will lead to Mars Blackman shaking off the mothballs, and pushing Oscars instead of Nikes.
Today in Unexpected Marketing: Black Snake Moan Trailer with SOAP
Filed under: Drama », Paramount », Newsstand », Movie Marketing »
When release dates are pushed back more than a week or so, I immediately get nervous. Unless the move is into December, so the short-attention-spanned Academy members will remember the film, my assumption is that there's something wrong with the movie, and the distributor is trying to either hide it, or put it up against competition so bad that audiences will have no choice but to see it. In the case of Black Snake Moan, however, I actually buy the explanation for the move: Craig Brewer's potentially controversial follow-up to Hustle & Flow stars Samuel L. Jackson, whose name you can't mention these days without thinking of Snakes on a Plane. Since Black Snake Moan is a reportedly very serious film about "a young nymphomaniac (Christina Ricci) who has to be 'cured' by an older bluesman (Lazarus, played by Jackson)," it's understandable that Paramount would want to distance it from the goofy, badass buzz that's been generated by SOAP.Though the release of Black Snake Moan has consequently been moved from September 15 (only a month after the SOAP open) to February 17, its trailer will nevertheless be attached to about 1500 prints of that film, which makes one wonder how much distance will actually be achieved. It also makes one wonder what the hell Paramount is thinking. When I see a movie theatrically, I can tell with, say, 90% accuracy if I've made a terrible mistake just by watching the previews that are shown beforehand -- trailers pretty reliably share a tone and audience with the feature to which they're attached. Black Snake Moan and SOAP? Not so freaking much. It's very odd -- Paramount seems to be running from the SOAP connection while simultaneously trying to ride the Jackson buzz to boost the Black Snake Moan. It'll be interesting to see if this has a positive effect on the film's eventually box office; I'm guessing no.
Kurosawa and Coppola Bonded over Whiskey
Filed under: Classics », Foreign Language », Fandom », Cinematical Indie »
Thanks to the epic power of the internet, we all now know about the appearances Hollywood stars make in Japanese ads. No matter what they're shilling for, Brad Pitt, Bruce Willis, George Clooney and dozens of others can earn piles of obscenely easy money by simply lending their mugs to an advertising campaign or 12. This is not, however, a new phenomenon. For example, way back in the dark ages of 1980, Francis Ford Coppola joined Akira Kurosawa (whose Kagemusha he was then producing) in spots for Suntory whiskey, a product Kurosawa had been endorsing for at least a decade.
Happily, a bunch of the spots -- both with and without Coppola, and directed by Kurosawa himself -- have been uploaded to YouTube for our viewing pleasure. My favorites are actually the latter group, particularly the first one in which only Kurosawa appears. For most of the 15-second-ish spot, it appears we're watching a documentary about the making of Kagemusha. And then, suddenly, a bottle of whiskey appears, and a very serious voice-over intones "Suntory Reserve." Alrighty then. If nothing else, I suppose it's nice to know that totally illogical alcohol ads are nothing new. (And yes, Heineken-Pussycat Dolls ad, I'm looking at you.)
Tom on MI3 Tie-Ins: Not So Fast
Filed under: Action », Drama », Thrillers », Newsstand », Tom Cruise », Movie Marketing », Remakes and Sequels »
Well, I think it's safe to add everyone at Nokia and Casio to the list of people sick to death of Tom Cruise. According to a long article in today's Hollywood Reporter, some of Mission: Impossible III's production partners are struggling to get approval of their movie-related advertising campaigns from Cruise's Cruise/Wagner production company. Because Cruise is not only the star but also a producer of the film, he has an unusual degree of control (Tom Cruise? Control? Never!) over affiliated advertising, and C/W has been nixing campaigns and products right and left, even those that don't bear his image.The THR article focuses specifically on the struggles of Casio and Nokia, both of which are featured prominently in the film (though Nokia apparently didn't receive quite the deal they expected -- "a competitor's products wound up in the movie despite assurances that Nokia would have placement exclusivity in the telecommunications category." Dang.), and had planned to launch extensive, MI3-related advertising campaigns to coincide with the film's release. Casio, though, was denied a US release of special-edition watches by C/W, and Nokia never succeeded in getting their print ads approved.
While the article points out that many A-list actors are very careful when it comes to film-related promotions, the timing of this news doesn't do much for Cruise's badly-damaged public image. (And, just so we're clear, Tom, it's you that's done the damage -- not advertisers.)
Selling Brokeback in Latin America
Filed under: Drama », Gay & Lesbian », Romance », Focus Features », Newsstand », Movie Marketing », Politics »
Though every conversation about Brokeback
Mountain these days inevitably includes some discussion of how that damn homophobia (as opposed to, you know,
the movie's quality) cost it the best picture Oscar, the reality of the situation is that audiences in the US are
incredibly open to homosexuality in the movies, at least when compared to their counterparts in Latin America.
Advertising in that region is carefully avoiding the gay elements of the film, and focuses instead on the awards (at
least in Mexico, the release date was pushed back to follow the Oscar ceremony) it has received, as well as the general
idea of romance. Additionally, based on a recommendation by Focus Features, Videocine, the film's Mexican distributor,
is not advertising the movie in gay publications.Now, while I understand that a conservative society might be troubled by Brokeback's content, it's a little unclear to me why tricking audiences into seeing the movie is a good idea. Well, actually, it's totally clear, just evil - even people who run screaming into the lobby at the first sign of manlove paid for a ticket, which is the bottom line for distributors. But why not advertise in gay publications? Readers will be interested in the movie, and it's not as if those who are opposed to homosexuality would be flipping through Out, see an ad, and decide not to see the movie.
If any readers wander in from Latin America, it'd be great to hear some first-hand reports of how the movie is being both advertise and received where you are.
The end is nigh: product placement in Curious George
Filed under: Animation », Family Films », Newsstand », Movie Marketing »
For a variety of reasons (basic human decency
obviously not among them), product placement is unusual in animated films. Among other things, it takes so long to make
most animation that a company's advertising goals or products could change completely between the film's inception and
its release. In addition, since animation is often used to make films set in fantastic worlds, product placement tends
to be pretty damn hard - I mean, what are you going to advertise in, say, Shrek?
Or The
Incredibles? Thankfully for all of us, the answer so far has been "not a damn thing."Curious George, however, is changing things. Yes, it's a sweet, innocent movie, aimed solidly at the preschool set. But five-year-olds have parents, dammit, and they're trapped, looking at the screen for 90 minutes - why not throw some Dole logos up there, for their viewing pleasure? Or, say, an animated Volkswagen Touareg? Maybe a US Postal Service bag or two? Yep, they're all there. Oh, and if you happen to buy a Dole banana any time soon, it's likely the thing will feature one of a million stickers telling you to see the movie. Seriously. I think the world is coming to an end.
Help Tartan advertise Lady Vengeance
Filed under: Action », Drama », Foreign Language », Horror », Thrillers », Movie Marketing », Remakes and Sequels », Cinematical Indie »
Lady Vengeance (formerly know as Sympathy for Lady
Vengeance) is South Korean director Park Chan-wook's final
installment in his revenge trilogy. The series started with the little-seen Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, which was followed by the wildly
successful Oldboy. Though the characters in the films are
unrelated, they go through similar ordeals, and are all determined to get revenge for their experiences. Lady
Vengeance will be released in the US by Tartan Films in late April, and they're taking an interactive approach to
promoting the film: fans are being asked to choose the advertising poster.Like the rest of the world, Tartan have a MySpace page, and it's there that you can see the seven options, and vote for your favorite. (Me, I love #6 but since it's totally misleading to casual observers, I'd vote for #5.) The only problem is that it looks like you've got to have a MySpace identity to vote - other than that, though, this is a pretty cool idea. Allowing the public to choose creates publicity and a buzz about the film, and the result will ideally be both a poster with which fans are happy, and an advertising campaign over which they have a sense of ownership. All that remains is to see if they show up to see the movie they helped promoted.
[via JoBlo]
Jeremy Renner Wants To Be An Avenger
Directors We Love: Jim Jarmusch
Indie Roundup: 'Sweetgrass,' 'Clarkworld,' 'Broken Embraces'
Shelf Life: Fight Club_thumbnail.jpg)
Watch: Famous 'Matrix' Scene Re-Created with LEGOs
_thumbnail.jpg)
