Snakes On A Plane - Viral Marketing At Its Best
Author: James Shenton
Author: James Shenton
Every so often a movie will come along that is destined for
greatness -- be it through powerful imagery, an engaging plot
or a stellar cast. Occasionally, though, just occasionally,
comes a movie whose success is based not on cast or plot (whose
plot, in fact, is purely incidental to its popularity) but on
simple viral marketing. Snakes on a Plane is such a movie.
For those of you who have yet to come across this particular
title, Snakes on a Plane is an R-rated action/horror vehicle
starring Samuel L Jackson. The plot, as we have come to expect
from action movies, is basic and untaxing. Jackson's FBI agent
is escorting a witness on a flight from Hawaii to California to
testify in a high-profile court case. Meanwhile, an assassin
smuggles a crate filled with over 500 snakes onto the flight.
Terror ensues. Simple.
Now, in the greatest traditions of Hollywood a movie such as
Snakes on a Plane should probably have vanished with little
comment somewhere in the middle of the usual pile of mindless
late summer action flicks. Perhaps it would have done well in
the rental market, but it had little hope of becoming a
blockbuster in theaters.
However, this particular movie has one special quality -- a
quality that saw it elevated from obscurity and gave it a vast
fan following as much as a year before its release. This movie,
you see, had a title that simply demanded comment - a working
title so ridiculous that it begged parody and satire.
And that's just what it was - a working title. Studios usually
give their productions a basic descriptive title before the
marketers come up with something better. ET: The
Extraterrestrial, for example, was titled variously A Boy's
Life, ET and Me and Night Skies before assuming the name we
know and love. The working title of Snakes on a Plane was, in
fact, changed to the more generic Pacific Air Flight 121 before
Jackson and droves of Internet fans insisted the original title
be restored.
And therein lies the magic. With nothing more than a working
title and a vague plot summary this movie became an Internet
phenomenon -- generating a slew of fan blogs, videos, songs,
parodies and praise before even a single frame of the movie has
been seen. In the viral marketing style of The Blair Witch
Project, the success of this low budget horror project is based
more on myth than fact: the Internet (and, more specifically,
the blogosphere) built hype, anticipation and excitement with
greater success than any expensive marketing could possibly
achieve.
Understandably, New Line Cinema took this surprising good
fortune and ran with it, acceding to the demands of an eager
public. They even went so far as to reshoot several scenes to
raise the movie rating from a PG-13 to an R - including the
addition of a line of dialog fans demanded following the
release of a fake audio trailer: "I want these motherf***ing
snakes off the motherf***ing plane!" They essentially remade
the movie to cater to the enormous, anonymous audience who made
it famous.
With all the hype surrounding Snakes on a Plane New Line is
onto a clear winner. Since the movie has become, sight unseen,
a massive cult hit it doesn't matter in the slightest whether
the movie is actually any good. In fact, it would probably take
more at the box office if it were resoundingly, jaw-droppingly
awful. The viral aspects of the Internet spreading news of its
dreadfulness would only serve to drive more fans to the ticket
booths, all ready and more than willing to take part in this
full-length in-joke.
And that's the point, you see. That's the reason Snakes on a
Plane has become so well loved -- we don't expect it to be
serious. We don't expect it to be enlightening, intelligent or
valuable. We just expect to see snakes. On a plane.
At the end of the day, what else is there to say?
About The Author: As an industry analyst and keen fan of movie
marketing, James Shenton can often be found pondering the use
of clever marketing over genuine acting talent in turning
average films into box office gold. For more articles and info
on how to download DVD movies, go to
http://www.EliteMovieDownloads.com
greatness -- be it through powerful imagery, an engaging plot
or a stellar cast. Occasionally, though, just occasionally,
comes a movie whose success is based not on cast or plot (whose
plot, in fact, is purely incidental to its popularity) but on
simple viral marketing. Snakes on a Plane is such a movie.
For those of you who have yet to come across this particular
title, Snakes on a Plane is an R-rated action/horror vehicle
starring Samuel L Jackson. The plot, as we have come to expect
from action movies, is basic and untaxing. Jackson's FBI agent
is escorting a witness on a flight from Hawaii to California to
testify in a high-profile court case. Meanwhile, an assassin
smuggles a crate filled with over 500 snakes onto the flight.
Terror ensues. Simple.
Now, in the greatest traditions of Hollywood a movie such as
Snakes on a Plane should probably have vanished with little
comment somewhere in the middle of the usual pile of mindless
late summer action flicks. Perhaps it would have done well in
the rental market, but it had little hope of becoming a
blockbuster in theaters.
However, this particular movie has one special quality -- a
quality that saw it elevated from obscurity and gave it a vast
fan following as much as a year before its release. This movie,
you see, had a title that simply demanded comment - a working
title so ridiculous that it begged parody and satire.
And that's just what it was - a working title. Studios usually
give their productions a basic descriptive title before the
marketers come up with something better. ET: The
Extraterrestrial, for example, was titled variously A Boy's
Life, ET and Me and Night Skies before assuming the name we
know and love. The working title of Snakes on a Plane was, in
fact, changed to the more generic Pacific Air Flight 121 before
Jackson and droves of Internet fans insisted the original title
be restored.
And therein lies the magic. With nothing more than a working
title and a vague plot summary this movie became an Internet
phenomenon -- generating a slew of fan blogs, videos, songs,
parodies and praise before even a single frame of the movie has
been seen. In the viral marketing style of The Blair Witch
Project, the success of this low budget horror project is based
more on myth than fact: the Internet (and, more specifically,
the blogosphere) built hype, anticipation and excitement with
greater success than any expensive marketing could possibly
achieve.
Understandably, New Line Cinema took this surprising good
fortune and ran with it, acceding to the demands of an eager
public. They even went so far as to reshoot several scenes to
raise the movie rating from a PG-13 to an R - including the
addition of a line of dialog fans demanded following the
release of a fake audio trailer: "I want these motherf***ing
snakes off the motherf***ing plane!" They essentially remade
the movie to cater to the enormous, anonymous audience who made
it famous.
With all the hype surrounding Snakes on a Plane New Line is
onto a clear winner. Since the movie has become, sight unseen,
a massive cult hit it doesn't matter in the slightest whether
the movie is actually any good. In fact, it would probably take
more at the box office if it were resoundingly, jaw-droppingly
awful. The viral aspects of the Internet spreading news of its
dreadfulness would only serve to drive more fans to the ticket
booths, all ready and more than willing to take part in this
full-length in-joke.
And that's the point, you see. That's the reason Snakes on a
Plane has become so well loved -- we don't expect it to be
serious. We don't expect it to be enlightening, intelligent or
valuable. We just expect to see snakes. On a plane.
At the end of the day, what else is there to say?
About The Author: As an industry analyst and keen fan of movie
marketing, James Shenton can often be found pondering the use
of clever marketing over genuine acting talent in turning
average films into box office gold. For more articles and info
on how to download DVD movies, go to
http://www.EliteMovieDownloads.com
