C’mon Hollywood #159

… ease up on the advertising!
by Sturdy

I only got a B+ in my marketing class, but I have to question whether or not this onslaught of advertising for big budget summer movies is necessary. I appreciate the fact that studios want to raise awareness for certain films and generate hype for their summer releases, but it seems like we’re getting information overload for the bigger movies. A couple of trailers and TV spots, some cool posters and an informational website is really all we need.

I don’t want to even hint at a negative comment about the DARK KNIGHT, especially around these parts, but the numerous virals the WB and other studios have created for their films are pretty much played out. Do people really enjoy surfing the net for some obscure website that might be an official site for the DARK KNIGHT? How is an obscure viral supposed to make anyone want to see a movie? If you didn’t want to see DARK KNIGHT before the viral, you’re not going to change your mind afterwards. I don’t want to jump through hoops to watch a frickin’ trailer.

I was going to see this long before I ever clicked on that viral

While we’re on superhero movies, didn’t it seem like we saw a lot of IRON MAN before it was even released? Of course, if the movie hadn’t made bank this past weekend, it would make my argument more convincing. But I thought they went overboard when they were actually posting scenes from the film online, complete with Favs commentary. That’s something to do if you’re trying to sell the Blu-ray, not sell movie tickets. I don’t want to watch scenes from a movie online and then go shell out $8 to see it once in the theater.

I almost felt like I’d already seen this a month before it was released

It’s funny that Hollywood preaches about the horrors of piracy and illegal downloading, then turns around and put clips of movies online to generate awareness. Right, because when a kid videotapes a movie with bad film quality and a shaky camera, that takes away ticket sales, but when a studio puts a high definition clip online, it generates “buzz”? Give me a break. Hollywood is only encouraging people to watch movies on their computers. Personally, when I watch a five minute clip of a movie on my computer, it only makes me want to download the rest of the movie.

However, my absolute biggest pet peeve when it comes to advertising is with “webisodes”. Why? They’re boring. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think PHANTOM MENACE was the first to do it and even those were a little dull. Now almost every movie has their version of webisodes that include quick clips of actors and filmmakers talking about their film. I watched one for INDIANA JONES and then kicked myself because it gave away too much. Save that stuff for the Blu-ray, not the internet.

In a moment of weakness, I watched too much of Indy 4.

So c’mon Hollywood, ease up on the advertising. We get it, you put a lot of money into your film and you want us to see it. Two trailers, two posters and a few TV spots and you’re done. Hell, I don’t even mind the fast food tie-ins. But overdoing it with webisodes, virals, movie clips and more is getting old.