At Movie Marketing Madness, Chris Thilk points to a sample marketing presentation made by the ad agency Basement, based on this hypothesis: If all prints of Casablanca had been lost immediately after its initial premiere and had recently been found, how would you market the film today as a wide-release feature?
Chris says the pitch looks “very real,” and he would know better than me, but I have to admit: some of the slides made me laugh out loud. Like the one where Casablanca is pitched as the perfect gap bridger between Sex and the City and an “Iraq War film” (”Casablanca is a romantic option for women; while still having entertainment for men — a shared experience for Valentines day”). And also the “Valentine’s Day Romance Generator” feature on the hypothetical Casablanca website, which allegedly “takes a woman’s idea, and transforms it into a man’s idea.” And also the “contingency plan” of having a Warner Brothers-signed top R&B performer do a cover of “As Time Goes By.”
So…is this supposed to be funny, or practical? Both?
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