As a long and disappointing summer movie season comes to an end, Hollywood marketers are realizing that network-television advertising, long the lifeblood of their movie campaigns, may not pack the punch it once did.
Network TV has been part of Hollywood’s sales formula for many years, as studios desperate to launch expensive blockbusters blitzed the national airwaves in an effort to reach the broadest possible audience. But many studio executives now are calling that formula into question, having watched this summer as it failed to pay off amid a string of box-office laggards.
Of course they are – like bullshit leaders in every business, they find a scapegoat for poor numbers and wash their hands of the problem for a year. By the time everyone figures out their ruse, they’re on to their next job…or the jig is up and they get pitched out of the plane with one of those infamous ‘golden parachutes’. But enough from me…
That certainly was the indication from audiences who stayed away from heavily marketed summer movies such as “Stealth,” from Sony Corp.’s Sony Pictures Entertainment, and “The Island,” a joint venture of DreamWorks SKG and Time Warner Inc.’s Warner Bros. — two action flicks each of which cost roughly $150 million to make and market and likely will be outgunned in U.S. ticket sales by the tiny nature film “March of the Penguins.”
This one is on my list, next time we have a sitter.
Consumers between the ages of 12 and 34, who are at the heart of the moviegoing public, “spend more time on the Internet, playing videogames, on their cellphones” than going to movies, says Tim Spengler, executive vice president and director of national broadcast for Interpublic Group of Cos.’ Initiative, an ad-placement firm. “As a result, marketers are slightly altering their mix to better target the heavy moviegoing young audience,” he says.
Blah, blah, blah…
There’s the internet, which makes movie reviews more readily available. When the movie is a piece of crap, it gets a bad review, both critics and the public. So the answer is to MAKE GOOD MOVIES, not KEEP MAKING CRAP MOVIES AND THEN SPEND ALL YOUR TIME FIGURING OUT HOW TO MARKET THEM!
Besides Congress outlawing movie reviews, these humps can blabber on about everything but the quality of their product all they want, and it won’t make a difference.
Hello Chris! You have been MIA from my forum for sometime! We need some of your commentary! 🙂
I don’t George Lucas bitching about tv advertising. I neverunderstood why it costs $150 million to make crap, but Lucas never had that problem.
Jaaman, sorry for disappearing for so long. With the kids here now, my surfing time has been cut down. I’ll be heading by there today as Heather’s off with her sister and the kids down to Cape Cod today. I’m spending some much needed time with our kitty, Cleo – hoping to get some writing in later on today.
A couple of my last articles posted to ‘debate the issues’ didn’t get much attention, so I kind of got the impression that I pissed off some folks over there. Thanks for reaching out!