How to Tackle the Job of Marketing a Movie Based on Sex

Marketing of Fifty Shades: Sexy Without being Sleazy

"Universal had to walk a tightrope by being edgy and erotic without being sleazy and inaccessible."

     Universal had the tough job of marketing the well anticipated film adaptation of the best-selling novel, "Fifty Shades of Grey." Universal chose to market to three target audiences: fans of the book, "capture the curious," and "seduce the skeptics." There was much controversy over how to market this film. The film is centered around sex, so how to market without being too controversial? Universal decided to go the route of appealing to the sexual aspect of the film, but tried not to reveal to much in order to create anticipation for those who might have not been full throttle for the film. They used billboards such as "Curious?" in order to attract attention and interest. The marketers also chose a sophisticated color palette of grays, blues, and blacks in order to stay as far away from sleazy as possible. 

     The marketing team at Universal also made a clear digital marketing plan. They released scenes from the film a year ahead of the film's release in order to create buzz for the film. The team also created an interactive online marketing plan like being able to take a tour of the main character, Christian Grey's, apartment. Universal targeted the novel's main audience, middle-aged women, but also reached out to target men and those who did not have interest in the film originally.

"The studio asked the question: Why were the books so popular? Their research uncovered some surprising findings. Readers heard about the book from friends and they wanted to see what all of the excitement was about. They bought the book because they were intrigued by its titillating story line, but kept on reading to follow the relationship between fictional businessman Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele."

     I love the way that Universal chose to market the film of Fifty Shades of Grey. I think that they achieved their goal of creating buzz for the film very far in advance of the release date. My favorite aspect of the promotion was the widespread appeal of the line "Mr. Grey will see you now." This line, the beginning of Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey's relationship, is one of the best in the novel, so it created a massive amount of anticipation. I also feel that the marketing team did a very good job of not only advertising the sex aspect of the story. They did use the sex to their advantage, but it was not the main thing advertised.

James, M. (2015, February 13). 'Grey' area: For a provocative film, many shades of marketing. Retrieved February 20, 2015, from http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-fifty-shades-marketing-20150213-story.html#page=1

50 Shades of Fame

50 Facts About 50 Shades

"Based on the first novel in E.L James' mega-selling trilogy of titillation, and starring our own Jamie Dornan as the domineering Christian Grey and Dakota Johnson as his submissive lover Anastasia Steele, its clear fans, dissenters and the merely curious alike will be descending in their droves on the cinemas this weekend."

The anticipation for the novel "50 Shades of Grey" coming to life on the big screen has been almost too much for the fans to handle. E. L. James has now been labeled one of the "100 Most Influential People in the World." From June 2012 to June 2013 alone, James made approximately $95 million. "Sons of Anarchy" star Charlie Hunnan had originally been cast as Christian Grey, but then had to drop the role in order to continue filming "Sons of Anarchy." BDSM communities around the world are up in arms towards the novel because they do not feel it accurately portrays their lifestyle. Overall, the fascination with this trilogy has a jaw-dropping affect.

"The 50 Shades trilogy has sold 31 million copies worldwide, overtaking Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and The Da Vinci Code as the bestselling books in Britain."

Personally, I am one of those crazed 50 Shades fans. My anticipation for the novel coming to the big screen has been growing each day. I find that people focus too much on the sex aspect of the books, and cannot identify the underlying romance between the two characters, Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele. I am personally upset that Ryan Gosling did not receive the part of Christian Grey, because well, he's Ryan Gosling. However, I feel that the cast was well picked and the movie will be a huge, massive, insane success.

50 sexy facts about 50 Shades of Grey. (2015, February 11). Retrieved February 13, 2015, from http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/50-shades-grey-50-facts-5145440

The Dominating New Trend

Book to Movie Trend

"Lately, an all too-common trend has been hard to ignore."

     Hollywood has acknowledged and acted upon the popularity that comes along with topping the New York Times' Best Seller List. Whether destroying or perfectly recreating the novels they adapt, their main goal is money. Hollywood has settled upon making mediocre films, as long as they bring in revenue. Social media has also played a large role in creating this ever present trend. For example, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 released similar propaganda like that in the film all over social media in order to gain anticipation for the film's release. It's genius. Movie makers have succeeded in discovering what works and what doesn't. They can completely butcher a fan base's idea of a novel, yet  most everyone that is within that fan base will pay to witness the butchering. 

"For example, “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1” was the No. 1 movie of 2014 is brought in the most revenue to the box office at over $700 million worldwide. While the most prestigious awarded film of 2014 was “Birdman,” with revenue of only over $50 million worldwide."

     Not only do I pay to witness the butchering of my favorite novels, but I spread the word about the films, unknowingly advertising for others to also contribute to the people that butchered it. Even though I am well aware of this common occurrence of Hollywood's complete misdirection in the production of a book-based film, I will probably not stop paying to see them. Bad or good, I still want to see the words I have been reading come to life on the big screen.

Celis, A. (2015, February 5). The rise of the book-to-movie trends. Retrieved February 6, 2015, from http://sundial.csun.edu/2015/02/the-rise-of-the-book-to-movie-trends/