Comments on: Borat vs. Snakes on a Plane

By: Lisa V

Lisa V — Sat, 18 Nov 2006 03:22:32 +0000

Mario– great article. I certainly agree that the heavy guerilla marketing helped boost movie sales. Not to mention the controversy Borat has caused- with transitions to PR! And, his utilization of open-source media outlets like YouTube and Myspace. I think the most amazing thing is the fact that Borat spent ZERO on his media budget and movies like Snakes and Farenheit I know were a little more traditional. Still, BORAT came out on top. I have written about this also, more details at my blog, theviralmarketingbug.blogspot.com. Some other really interesting uses of consumer-generated and open-source media can be found there too. I encourage you to check it out.
Thank you for your time and contribution to the marketing blogosphere.
Lisa

By: Marianne Richmond

Marianne Richmond — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 08:00:49 +0000

Mario, Good post!
I haven’t seen the movie but I feel like I am in a constant trailer for it….my two teenage sons and all their friends think Borat and the Borat movie is the funniest thing they have ever seen and just to prove it they feel the need to repeat the lines to each other over and over again. The Jackass crowd.
But you know what? I don’t think its marketing as much as they think he is really really funny; almost as much as I think the opposite.
With SoaP, they went to see it to check out the supposed buzz, which is all they found..with Borat they went to see the movie because they wanted more Borat and they are part of the Borat buzz. As much as I don’t see the humor, to them Borat is the real deal.
Marianne

By: gianandrea facchini

gianandrea facchini — Thu, 09 Nov 2006 04:56:20 +0000

one more comment. majors do consider main goal the box office of the first week end. the common practice is to stop adv on that week end and then let the movie go on the buzz generated by the first week end audience. borat is coming a long way from this point of view. but as it is born on a buzz and viral campaign, then it’s crucial to ride the wave when it’s higher. btw in italy apparently 20th century fox was delaying borat launch to march 2007. but at that time will be any wave around? i’m afraid not.

By: Mario Sundar

Mario Sundar — Thu, 09 Nov 2006 03:30:50 +0000

Claire,
I agree that the blogosphere is being increasingly used to hype movies. But as with SoaP, if the product isn’t good then all that the hype can generate is only a small spike in the first weekend’s box-office results.
Thanks, Chris.
As for the target audience, the Jackass crowds were the ones you saw at the my space premieres, but the movie’s staying power will depend on how many of the mainstream audience have converted to “Borat” moviegoers.
Only Time will tell.

By: Mario Sundar

Mario Sundar — Thu, 09 Nov 2006 03:25:56 +0000

Thanks to Gianandrea and Spike for your comments.
Lewis,
As intangible as it may seem, in my opinion, the only way to measure marketing success is in the numbers related to the adoption of a product/service that’s being advertised for.
In the case of a movie I believe the box-office numbers are the best indicator to whether or not we’ve been able to convince moviegoers that this is an entertaining film.
And when a movie with a minuscule budget goes onto become the “highest-grossing wide opening ever for a picture playing at less than 1,100 theaters”, I consider it a phenomenal word-of-mouth marketing success.
How do you think movie-marketing should be measured?

By: Chris Thilk

Chris Thilk — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 19:22:40 +0000

OK, first off, leave the movie marketing analysis to the professionals.
Secondly, good stuff.
The only point I disagree with you on is where you say the movie’s target audience was the “Jackass” crowd. I think this was always playing to the coffee-house, still prefer the BCC “Office” to the NBC one group.
But you’re right in that the campaign was executed very well and timed within an inch of its life by Fox. This movie, as opposed to SoaP, proved that word-of-mouth can be a huge factor in a movie’s success.

By: Claire Ratushny

Claire Ratushny — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 16:28:32 +0000

Hi Mario,
I read recently that movie studies are increasingly creating buzz by promoting their new releases through the blogosphere. Some have even invited participants to view films ahead of their release dates. Apparently, this technique is being used to build enough of a groundswell to ensure a huge audience turnout; and to circumvent tepid to bad reviews by the movie critics. By the time the lead actor(s) hit the media circuit, these movies have already been hyped up to the public.

By: Lewis Green

Lewis Green — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 13:52:18 +0000

Mario,
I agree with Gianandrea. This is not a movie with broad appeal; therefore, traditional marketing would fail.
But help me understand what you mean by “phenomenal marketing success.” Twenty-six million dollars doesn’t resonate with that phrase, so how are we measuring success in this instance?

By: Spike

Spike — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 13:41:26 +0000

Comparing SoaP to Borat is like comparing apples to carburetors. The only common thread they have is that they’re both movies. Snake on a Plane was “hijacked” by the audience, and ultimately they influenced the rewriting and addition of scenes, etc. No, it didn’t live up the hype. But Borat is doing the typical Hollywood marketing blitz. He’s not the only movie character with a MySpace page, etc.
You’re right, it’s fair to compare Borat with Jackass. But not with SoaP.
Nice post–

By: gianandrea facchini

gianandrea facchini — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 13:22:00 +0000

mario, i had the chance to view it. you are right about the inner meaning of the movie. 20th Century Fox was very clever indeed but they were mainly forced to look for alternative strategy because there was no way to advertise the movie in a classic way.