(Photo source: IMP Awards)
20th Century Fox planned to release the Reese Witherspoon-Chris Pine-Tom Hardy romance/action comedy This Means War today with the date heavily publicized in print ads and TV spots.
In the eleventh hour, Fox delayed War to February 17 and hastily proposed its initial Valentine's Day release as a sneak preview in an attempt to save face.
They had good reason to worry.
Last weekend, no studio pitted a romance or rom-com against Sony/Screen Gems' The Vow for the pre-Valentine's business; Fox was the only maverick then-scheduling War on the actual holiday to vie for that same audience.
With its tearjerker premise, appealing leads, and promise of The Notebook's earnest romance and sentimentality, Vow was a juggernaut to be fear; it had everything going for it to be the ultimate date movie and girls' night out. Tracking for Vow rode high for months, while War failed to pick up; on Facebook, Vow had over 900k fans the day before its release compared to War's current 23k (no, that is not a typo).
Vow opened last weekend on top with a record-breaking $41.2 million, and is predicted to continue raking business today for Valentine's.
The McG-directed War spy vs. spy romance/action comedy by no means has the stench of a stinker and looks like popcorn-fun similar to Mr. and Mrs. Smith, but the timing is off. With love in the air, the distasteful and aggressively-titled picture is not something I picture couples gravitating toward at the marquee when next to the romantic Vow; War would better take advantage of its mix of action and light romance-comedy appealing to both sexes in summer or early fall.
Since Fox did not budge and wave the white flag on War's ill-fated February release, perhaps they could have done more to differentiated their picture.
Here are five suggestions how their digital movie campaign could have recruited moviegoers to fight harder for War:
1. The ANTI-Valentine's
For every PDA-hands-all-over-each-other couple on the street who adores Valentine's Day, there are more singletons and people who view it as a grossly commercial and sappy day. The Vow will take Valentine's Day, but War can put up a brawl for the days and weekend after.
Make opening day an event for people who aren't V-day fans to get excited about and come together on the 14th to watch it together.
A campaign plastering the slogan "THIS MEANS WAR on Valentine's" on RSVP cards and videos all around the web can serve as a dig on the holiday while promoting the movie. Fans can invite friends by sharing the RSVP cards and videos that poke fun at love on their social media networks.
Partner up with sites such as Meetup.com and Eventbrite where people with similar interests can get together, and make opening day at a theater a "THIS MEANS WAR on Valentine's" event party. To encourage people to attend, an opening day exclusive Anti-Valentine's freebie or incentive (example: Restaurant.com voucher so the group can dine out after the movie) can be given with each movie ticket.
For Pine and Hardy wage War over you, the Tweet Cheat-Off, and more:
2. Pine and Hardy fighting over... ME?
The most memorable part of War's trailer is when Pine and Hardy reveal the girl of their dreams to each other by flipping their laptop screens at the same time, and then suddenly discover they're both dating Witherspoon.
It could be a real hoot for the target female demographic (and some male) to include themselves in the trailer or a special clip of that scene by embedding their photo in it and make it appear the hunky spies are going to great lengths to win her affections.
By making it funny and personal, one would be more inclined to share it with their friends on Facebook and Twitter, and friends would likely watch it more than a regular ol' movie trailer.
War's Facebook page released the Covert Face app yesterday where one can put photos of themselves over the cast members' faces on the movie poster; while the sentiments are in the right place, it lacks excitement and is less likely to be shared and seen than a video.
Some campaigns that have allowed fans to embed themselves in viral videos include Bridesmaids, The Thing (2011), and The Forgotten (2004).
3. Breakup playlist
(Screenshot from Spotify playlist)
War's target 18-34 audience are sharing the music they're listening to and creating playlists on Spotify. While romantics are making the soundtracks of love, why not ask fans to contribute and create a playlist with all-time favorite breakup songs.
It is an easy and relatable way to drive engagement because almost everyone has been there and has a song that has helped them through a heartbreak.
Perhaps the top 10 songs shared and submitted from the collective playlists will appear in an "official inspired-by soundtrack" and/or appear as a bonus for War's DVD release.
4. The Tweet Cheat-Off
Although War's premise looks lighthearted and fun, at the end of the day, Witherspoon's character is two-timing the men and there's no going around that.
Cheated on? War can create a Twitter account that asks fans to tweet their worst cheated on-stories in 140 characters or less; it would be more interactive and different than the typical not-all-that-interesting Twitter movie account that only spews news. Moreover, it will position War as a pic with edge and not just another sappy rom-com.
The War Cheat-Off account will retweet the best scandalous, sensational, or horrific stories, which will be of interest for fans to read, send in to get off their chest, and possibly find comfort by seeing they are not alone.
With comedienne Chelsea Handler heavily promoted in the TV spots, if it is possible, she can comment on stand-out stories and sound off on the cheaters in short weekly video clips in her frank, unapologetic style of humor only she knows how to do.
5. I'd Do Anything For Reese
Two best friend spies will duel each other for their lady. What would you do for a gal like Reese?
(Photo source: This Means War Facebook)
Engage fans by awarding them for posting or tweeting a pic of themselves doing something or going somewhere thrilling (sky diving, paragliding, scuba-diving, climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro?) and holding a provided print-out sign, "I did it for Reese. This Means War!"
Fans can be divided into teams to dare each other on challenges, while a moderator will review them to ensure safety and post the official assignments.
These challenges will promote "This Means War" in public, drive engagement and keep fans interacting with each other, and draw interest from family, friends, and casual viewers who will want to see what stunts people go to "for Reese."
For the grand prize, the winning team or person can finally meet Reese at the movie premiere. And if Reese's Pieces were smart, they would partner up on this campaign! ;)
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