This trailer for the new thriller “The Debt” caught my eye…

I’m a big fan of Daniel Silva’s “Gabriel Allon” novels, so the Israeli angle grabbed my attention…

…along with an absolutely top-notch cast.

Let’s go through our trailer effectiveness review…

A – Attention

“We should never forget how young they were”.

On the face of it, the line that opens the trailer is straightforward…

…but there seems to be an implied justification of the actions of the characters…

…a hint that something happened that wasn’t quite right.

There’s a big hint in the title itself, of course.

We start at the commemoration of a mission…

…the broad details of which are then laid out.

Mossad agents sent to snatch Nazi war criminal…

…which is a familiar tale…

…but the attention grabbing twist is that they have to go behind the Iron Curtain.

The opening is a little slow, but the broad outline is enough to grab attention

Score – 1.5

I – Interest

As the trailer develops we see more details of the mission…

…along with some development of the characters.

And then…

…something goes wrong.

Now, normally an obstacle to the heroes is there to create drama and tension.

In this case, it’s more than that, as we shall see.

Score -2.0

D – Desire

It’s in the final section where the trailer kicks up a gear…

…and the hook is not just one mystery…

…but two.

What happened on the original mission 30 years ago…

…and what is the problem today?

What is “The Debt”?

The double mystery ramps really increases the curiosity factor…

…and certainly piques my interest.

Score – 3.0

Bonus Mark – 1.0

Total – 7.5

A tale within a tale and this trailer relies heavily on the curiosity factor.

It’s success (as a trailer) depends on how much we want to know what happens.

Do we care what happens?

Works in my case and this is definitely on my “To See” list.

How about you?  Feel free to leave your thoughts about the trailer for “The Debt”.

As “Taken” is one of my favourite movies of the last couple of years…

…”Unknown” featuring Liam Neeson in an action-hero role was guaranteed to grab my attention!

Here’s the trailer…

Let’s see how it stacks up against our trailer effectiveness criteria…

A – Attention

Note the device of using the airplane to start the trailer.  There’s something about aircraft (or large ships, as another example) that attracts attention.  Also, it sets up the idea that we’re going on a journey.  From there, after a slightly slow section it’s POW!…

…and into the car crash.  OK start.

Score – 2.0

I – Interest

This is where the trailer really starts to pick up speed.  Sure, the “amnesia plot” is hardly new, but it’s a great plot device and there’s an added twist here where people who should know out here deny all knowledge of him. Why?

Plus, the idea of suddenly losing your identity and being cast adrift in the world without any of the things that you take for granted as defining you…

…well that touches a chord of anxiety for most of us.  Good job in this section.

Score – 2.5

D – Desire

Develops the plot further PLUS taps into CURIOSITY in a big way.  It’s funny, even though we can pretty much map out the likely course of the plot, we still don’t know EXACTLY what’s going to happen.

PLUS…the killer line “I didn’t forget everything”…

…setting up big Liam going on the rampage!

Score – 2.5

Bonus Mark – 1.0

Even though I’m biased in favour of the movie, I do think the trailer does a great job using the curiosity angle.  Definitely a “Must See” for me.

Total – 8.0

That’s my 2 cents.  Feel free to leave a comment!

Been a while since my last “Marketing And Movie Trailers” post…

…and as I’ve been to the movies a couple of times recently…

(to see “The King’s Speech” and “The Black Swan”, since you ask)

…thought it was time for another.

“The King’s Speech” is attracting widespread praise and picking up numerous awards.  Thoroughly deserved in my opinion.  Loved the film and everyone I know who has seen it feels the same.

Wonderful story, great acting and production and very moving. I confess I cried at the end.

Now, I remember seeing the trailer at Christmas when I was in the UK…

…and it immediately grabbed my interest.

I wished that “The King’s Speech” had been showing at the time…

…in contrast to the mediocre fare that was served up (I endured the latest “Harry Potter” and “Gulliver’s Travels” unfortunately).

So, I thought it well worth reviewing the trailer to see just what made me want to see this film.

Here’s the trailer…

OK. let’s go through this…

A – Attention

Starts off with a hint of mystery.  The swirling mist is a nice touch.  Announcing that it’s something to do with “public speaking” is clever because so many people fear this.  Add in that this involves royalty (in our celebrity obsessed culture, the royals fascinate many people) and you have a pretty solid attention-getting start to the trailer.

Score – 2.5

I- Interest

This really develops in two parts.  The first develops the story a little more, expands on the problem and introduces us to the characters.  It’s good, but at this stage seems little more than a charming period piece, telling an interesting but little-known story.

Then drama is introduced with the approach of World War 2 and things get a lot more serious.  One man’s personal struggle assumes a much larger significance.  It’s this second part that really builds the interest.

Score – 3.0

D – Desire

The final section continues to build up the drama and the tension and we are left wondering how this all turns out.  We kind of suspect that it’s going to be OK, but most people won’t know the details of this true story.  More importantly, the trailer has done a good job of making us care about the characters.

Score – 2.5

Bonus Mark – 0.5 (I’ve already scored this pretty highly!)

Total – 9.0

It’s the middle section of this trailer that does a great job, I think.  As mentioned, when I first saw this trailer it really caught my attention and made this movie a “must see”.

And I wasn’t disappointed.  It’s been nominated for a hatful of Oscars and would be worthy winner.

Couple of other upcoming movies have caught my attention, notably the remake of “The Mechanic”.  So watch this space…

Came across this upcoming movie that has been attracting interest from a number of movie buffs.

Main point of interest is that Ben Affleck not only stars but also directs.

Er…”So what?” you might ask.

Well, Ben’s debut at directing “Gone Baby Gone” received critical plaudits and given the current uninspiring state of filmmaking this new movie is awaited with interest.

And I’ve got to say, it does look intriguing…have a look for yourself…

OK, let’s score this…

A – Attention

Spooky open, straight into the action and then cuts to the “story”.  Gets a lot done quickly in my view.

Score 2.0

I – Interest

OK, the story line and the background gets developed, characters are introduced.  Lots of action and this definitely promises to be an “edge of the seat” type movie.

Note the “credibility” elements used here referring to previous hit movies.  Doesn’t always work, of course.  For example “Green Zone” bombed despite desperate attempts to link it to the successful “Bourne” movies.

Note also, as part of the development here there’s a plot “giveaway”.  I guess it’s necessary otherwise the rest of the trailer isn’t going to make sense. And it leaves me wondering what else might be going on so it doesn’t damage the effectiveness of the trailer.

Definitely piqued my interest at this stage.

Score – 2.5

Desire – D

I’ve mentioned in previous posts in this series how in most movies like this we kind of know what’s going to happen.  Basically, the “Good Guys” are going to win, so it’s more a question of seeing how they do it.

But this movie is a little different.  There’s a degree of ambiguity here.  It’s not really clear how this is going to work out.  I’m intrigued!

Score – 2.5

This looks like a superior “Cops and Robbers” movie and reminds me of elements of the classic “Heat” (one of my all time favourites).  The trailer does a pretty good job.

Bonus Mark – 1.0

Total – 8.0

Let me know what you think!

“Denzel Washington” is usually enough to get my attention so didn’t take much to get me to check out the trailer for the upcoming movie “Unstoppable”.

We haven’t had a good “runaway train” movie for a while so let’s have a look…

So how does it rate on our scoring system?

A – Attention

OK, shot of a BIG train so we quickly get the idea what this is about.  Note the use of the alarm clock device that we’ve seen before…could easily use that in a marketing video.  We get introduced to the main characters and we have the tension of the “unlikely partners thrown together” scenario.

So far, it’s a little formulaic but OK.

Score – 1.5

I – Interest

OK, this is where it starts to pick up pace, with the runaway train coming into the picture.  Lots of things getting smashed up plus the best line of this section…”It gets worse”!

Score – 2

D – Desire

It’s a funny thing with most movies like this is that we pretty much know what’s going to happen.  The “good guys” are going to win, so what is it that draws us in?  I guess it’s the thrill of the “ride” plus wanting to see how the good guys manage to pull it off.

In this case, I’m intrigued to see what happens.  Looks like there are going to be plenty of thrills and spills and I want to see what happens when they put their plan into action.

Score – 2

Overall, a pretty good effort.

Bonus Mark – 1

Total – 6.5

Due out later this year (November) I think.  Looks like it will be a great action movie experience.

Been a while since I posted a “Marketing And Movie Trailers”.  Is it me or has there been a lack of interesting movies so far this year?

Anyway, saw “Toy Story 3″ recently and LOVED it.

Without further ado, here’s the trailer…

OK, so how does it score on our usual scoring system?

A – Attention

Quickly sets the scene.  Interesting reference to previous Pixar hits (“Finding Nemo” etc).  Guess that’s there to build credibility and “authority” but I would guess most of the prospective audience already know about the Toy Story series.  Doesn’t hurt to remind people about more recent hits, though.

Not a great opening, in my opinion.  Mildly interesting, rather than arresting.

Score – 1.5

I – Interest

OK, this is where the trailer picks up.  With the background set up, we discover that the toys are going on  a “journey”, one of those classic story themes.  Of course, there are lots of “New” things to discover!  New places, a new situation and…lots of new toys!

Does a good job in this section…

Score – 2

D – Desire

Here’s where the trailer falls a little flat, in my view.  Sets out the fairly predictable story and fails to really build up any real curiosity.  Sure, looks like there are going to be some “adventures” on the way home for the toys, but the trailer fails to create any sense of drama.

In the end the trailer script is leaning heavily on the assumption that the viewer knows and cares about the Toy Story characters and will want to see what happens in the latest adventure.

Score – 1.5

Overall, a pretty average effort.

Bonus Mark – 0.

Total – 5

So, a poor trailer but a GREAT movie.

The movie has done well at the box office and received good reviews, so they obviously didn’t need a great trailer this time around.

If you’ve read any reviews you’ll know there’s a real emotional punch at the end…

…and yes, this particular “grown man” did cry!

Very much looking forward to the upcoming “Sherlock Holmes” movie with Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law.

I’m a big fan of the original stories and have read them many, many times.  So there’s always a degree of trepidation when someone decides to “interpret” a classic.

In this case, however, the director Guy Ritchie is himself a fan of the books and has gone back to the source material.  And there is plenty in the original stories to support a darker and edgier take on Holmes (recall his cocaine habit, for example).

And Watson was never the buffoon he’s made out to be in most of the best known adaptions.

Anyway, here’s the trailer…

In our customary scoring system…

A-Attention

Appropriately spooky music and waste no time setting the scene before a dramatic segue into the next section.  OK, it’s a little cliched but it works pretty well.

Score – 2

I – Interest

With a movie like this, where most people have some knowledge of the character and the broad story, the art is to keep people guessing and pique interest in what new twists and turns there are.  This section cuts quickly from clip to clip but gives a good idea of the theme and the plot.  Again, a decent job.

Score – 2

D – Desire

OK, I’m a fan so I was probably going to go anyway.  But, as I said, the big problem with a reinterpretation is the risk of alienating current fans.  People tend to have very strong ideas about what favourite books and characters should look like.  In this case, I think Ritchie has done a good job and I’m genuinely curious to see his version of the great Holmes (plus, I admire Downey Jr).

For non hardcore fans, I think the movie looks pretty interesting with plenty of action and the draw of a Guy Ritchie movie plus the high profile cast.

Score  – 2

Bonus Mark – 1. Overall the trailer is fine, so worth an overall…

Total – 7

Feel free to score this yourself and post a comment.

Leafing through a copy of “Men’s Health” magazine, came across an ad for the movie “Surrogates”.  The ad featured a very stylish Bruce Willis looking for all the world as if he was going to stand in as “Frank” in the next “Transporter” flick!

Anyway, it was enough to get me to look into the movie a little more and…

…wow!  OK, I’m a sucker for Sci-Fi but this looks very cool.

Here’s the trailer…

OK on our scoring scheme…

A – Attention

Got my interest, for sure! Wham! No messing around, straight into things.  Love the set up and note the “pitch” for the surrogates.  Seems awfully familiar to ad copy writers…

“You can live your life without limitations…Be anyone you want to be from the comfort and safety of your own home.  Without risk or danger.  You can finally live the life you’ve always dreamt of.”

Score: 2.5

I – Interest

From the opening we get into the story and once again, does a good job.  Now, I understand the movie is based on a graphic novel series (“comics” to people like me!) and I haven’t read it. People who have read the “book” may see things a little differently, of course.  But hey, I’m interested.

Score: 2

D- Desire

Yup, count me in!  OK, as mentioned, I’m a Sci-Fi fan and any movie with Bruce Willis has to have something going for it! Plus, I’m intrigued by the story and want to know what happens.

Score: 3

Bonus Mark: 0.5 (I’ve already scored this pretty highly and although I think this is a good trailer, it’s not THAT good!)

Overall, love the trailer and I’ll be seeing the movie (OK, that might have something to do with not having been to the movies for ages…I’ve been locked away working for the last month or so)!

Total: 8

OK…what do you think?  Feel free to post a comment…

UPDATE: Ended up going to see the movie the other day and I have to say it was a little disappointing.  Couple of good plot twists but at the end the movie just seemed to fizzle out.  Enjoyed the evening out, but I’ll pass on the DVD. As I said, not a bad movie, just I was expecting (hoping?) for a little more.

The new movie “Public Enemies” is out shortly…

…so as a big Michael Mann fan (“Heat” is one of my all-time favourite movies) that’s reason enough for me to take a look at the trailer…

…to see what marketing lessons we can glean.

Remember, the point of this series is get some pointers to how to make our marketing videos more effective by seeing what works in good movie trailers.

“Public Enemies” is the story of famous / infamous bank robber John Dillinger and his pursuit by the FBI.

Starring Johnny Depp and Christian Bale, it’s likely to attract a lot of interest.

Quick “Socionomic” note. Interesting that a film about an anti-hero of the Great Depression should be made now (and with such a high profile cast).

Let’s work though our A-I-D formula…

A- Attention

Got to say, I don’t find this opening very attractive.  The music grates, the gloomy colours are a turn off.  OK, the captions get the key message across but overall I’m left wondering what this is about.

Score: 1

I – Interest

Things pick up a little when we’re introduced to the main characters, for me from where Johnny Depp says “Well…We’ll see about that” (I have a feeling that could become a classic line!).  The heart of the story is basically a chase (like most crime movies) but we have a love story interweaved.  Enough going on here to develop interest.

Score: 2

D – Desire

So, has the trailer done enough to make us want to find out what happens?  There’s certainly some tension built up as we can see the trap the FBI sets for Dillinger.  I’ve already confessed to being a big Michael Mann fan so I’ll be seeing the movie anyway.  But I think this is only a so-so effort here.

Score: 2 (a little generous!)

Bonus Mark: 0

Overall, I’m not that impressed with the trailer and as I said the Desire score erred on the generous side.

Total: 5

Have to say, I’m surprised at the relatively poor score.  Won’t stop me seeing the movie but I have to confess to some apprehension about what it’s going to be like.  Which for a movie directed by Mann and starring Johnny Depp…well that’s not good!

“Well..We’ll see about that!”

Feel free to post a comment with your own scores and thoughts.

OK, time for another look at a movie trailer.

I was going to feature “Public Enemies”…

…but I didn’t want you to think that I only ever watch action and Sci-Fi movies!

So, I’ve selected the rom-com “The Proposal”.  It’s had a strong box office opening and has been a little more successful than perhaps expected.

From a look at the trailer, the story itself is a contemporary take on “The Taming Of The Shrew” tale…

…with elements of gender role reversal (a classic comedy device) plus “someone goes on a journey” thrown in as well.

Elements of “The Devil Wears Prada” as well.

OK, how does the trailer stack up on our A-I-D formula?

A – Attention

Good start, the alarm clock is a good (if often used) attention grabbing device. It starts off at a fast pace (the music helps here -the classic “Takin’ Care Of Business” by BTO) and we’re drawn in to the plot.  Overall, good job.

Score: 2

I – Interest

The core of the plot is revealed (hot shot lady exec faces deportation so coerces her (male) assistant into marriage so she can stay in the country) and we go off on a journey (to meet the family).  It’s a classic comedy set up and I found the clips funny, so again, good job.

Score: 2

D – Desire

OK, the payoff from a rom-com is the “feel good” factor plus enjoying the comedy.  Based on the trailer I’d be happy to watch the movie…

…although I’m probably not really the core audience for this.

Score: 2

Bonus Mark: 1

I liked the trailer, thought it was well done.  Good use of music (note).  Can see why the movie has done well so far.

TOTAL: 7

That’s my thoughts.  Have a look for yourself below…