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Number
54: May 26, 2004
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This week in Katydid:
What
Were We Here For Again?
How often have you gone to see a movie based on an exciting trailer only
to emerge from the theatre wondering what happened to the movie you saw
in the preview? Motion picture marketing has always involved hyperbole
and misdirection, but occasionally the marketers really go out of their
way to trick you.
For an example, New Line is promoting heavily their new film The
Notebook starring James
Garner and Gena
Rowlands. Or does it really star Ryan
Gosling and Rachel
McAdams. You see, New Line is marketing the film as if it were two
completely different movies. James Garner is 76. Gena Rowlands is 73. On
the other hand, Ryan Gosling is 24 and Rachel McAdams is 28.
I have not read the novel by Nicholas
Sparks that the movie is based on, nor have I seen the movie; but
I'm willing to bet, based on the advertising, that both young and old
audiences will be disappointed. Not because the film may be bad, but
because it's not the film they purchased. That is, it is not the film
they were sold.
Entertainment is one of the few products you buy without knowing what
you are going to get. Potential customers may study reviews of the film,
though generally they don't make a difference. All positive reviews will
get people into the seats, but even all negative reviews will get some
people to go out of curiosity. (Some people went to see Gigli
just to see how bad it was and to brag about their endurance.) Best of
all are mixed reviews especially when they are polarized for or against.
The
Passion did great box office for a religious themed film not
only because it tapped an underserved market, but also because people
felt they had to take a position, which meant paying to see the movie.
Posters
are iconic and help to build interest and to establish the art
direction. Most of us make up our minds the moment we see that first trailer.
My wife and I use hand signals to each other to rate our level of
interest. I'm sure you've heard people behind you whisper to each other
– setting their next date. The trailer gives us enough of the plot,
characterization, and tone of the film to make a decision whether or not
to see the movie.
It's bad enough when trailers
spoil the movie, but they do as much damage when they are
misleading. With The Notebook, the trailer you see on the
Internet or in the theatres heavily favors the elder couple of Garner
and Rowlands. These veteran actors will be appealing to anyone old
enough to remember them when they were closer to the ages that Gosling
and McAdams are now.
However, if you watch more youth-oriented programming such as
"American Idol" on the FOX network, you will see a very
different trailer. In this trailer, the older couple is nowhere to be
found and it emphasizes the star-crossed lovers played by Gosling and
McAdams.
The "old" trailer also includes the story of the young
romance, but in that trailer, the young people don't speak that much.
James Garner's smooth voice reassures us throughout the preview. It
leaves the impression of a sweeping story that will tug the
heartstrings.
The "young" trailer hides the older couple from us
completely. It plays to the self-obsessed emotionality of the "Real
World" crowd. The trailer shows the couple shouting at each
other soaked in the rain (to underscore the seriousness of their pain).
Assuming the youth audience and the mature (ugh) audience never see
the other trailer, both risk being disappointed when they arrive in the
theatre. The film seems to offer Rowlands and Garner as a framing device
for the youthful romance. The central dramatic question is not which one
will she choose, but which one stood by her through it all? The
resolution of the film will hold out the answer to that question until
the very end when it will tie the two stories together. That is if it
follows formula (i.e. Saving
Private Ryan).
(The most exciting and effective use of a framing device is to be
found in The
French Lieutenant's Woman).
Those who came to see the young romance will be annoyed to have to
sit through the story about the old people. Those who came to see the
love that spans the ages will be terribly disappointed if they get only
a few minutes at the beginning and end and find themselves sitting
through another histrionic retread of Romeo and Juliet.
("Oh, grow up already!")
This is not a good way to build word of mouth – the one thing
guaranteed to ensure box office performance.
Worse, is that this supposes that the two potential targets never see
the other trailers. I've obviously seen both versions. By following this
strategy of targeting the spots so narrowly, it risks raising the
suspicions of the target. For example, when you're in the showroom
buying a car and you hear a salesperson talking to another couple
extolling the performance and handling of the same car your salesperson
just sold you as safe and reliable, you question the validity of both
claims.
So, the young audience sees the trailer and thinks, "Isn't that
the old people's movie?" and the mature audience resolves,
"I'll let the kids see that one on their own." No one is
fooled; the campaign backfires; and no one goes the first weekend,
waiting to hear from his or her friends what the movie is really like.
And of course, the whole point is to drive as many people as possible
to see the film the first weekend, because we all hate a loser and love
a winner. We'll watch anything as long as it's the number one movie.
You can sell many products more than one way. I once wrote a college
essay comparing advertising campaigns for condoms sold in a men's
magazine and a women's magazine. Same product and two radically
different approaches. It made sense because they were reasonably sure
that the two targets didn't see the other campaign and because they
could focus on values that were true for each audience.
With products that you buy based on trust (training, consulting,
entertainment, etc.), you can't trick people into purchasing even if you
believe the product is strong enough that they'll like it anyway. Once
you violate the trust, you lose the audience. Give them credit for being
able to know what they like. Promise only what you can deliver, and
you'll hit major box office.
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Kind regards,
Kevin Troy Darling
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