For parents with young children, finding a movie that both the kids and adults can enjoy is a treasure. That formula of appealing to the young and old is what has driven Pixar's, now part of Disney, success. But while families are looking for entertainment, the studios are looking for dollars and profits. That's where movie trailer manipulation comes in.
It's never as good as the trailer
Movie trailers are designed to whet the appetite of consumers, and often the trailers are manipulated to create the most pre-release interest or buzz. For example, trailers often highlight brief but exciting parts of a story, making them look like central components of the movie. Usually the biggest complaint about a misleading trailer is that they show all of a comedy's funniest moments or all of an action movie's thrilling scenes, leaving the movie goers to suffer through an underwhelming or bad -- and expensive -- experience. But occasionally, very deliberate misrepresentation of a movie in its trailer and its overall marketing campaign can lead to major issues and a consumer backlash. In these cases, parents take their children to a totally different movie than they thought there were going to see.
No mention of the extended dying scene in the trailer
This year, the movie Marley & Me (official site here; IMDb site here) takes honors for having the most deceptive trailer -- a trailer that does not prepare parents or kids for the seriousness and sadness of the movie's ending. The studio, Fox 2000 Pictures, obviously knew that the movie's trailer -- and its other advertising vehicles, such as TV spots and billboards -- was not representative of the content of the film. The trailer emphasized a cute, family-friendly, dog-driven slapstick comedy ... a comedy that would appeal to children and parents. In addition, releasing the film on Christmas Day also made it appear as an excellent choice for the family.
However, for those unprepared for the film (and for those who did not read the book), it turns out while it has its comedic moments, it is a much more serious film than marketed. A major portion of it is dedicated to the death of Marley, the dog. While you could certainly argue that the film is, in fact, family fare -- if a little tough for many kids, particularly those unprepared by parents -- the problem is that the most emotional content is not even hinted at by the trailer. It's a classic case of false advertising.For many parents, this deliberate concealment of the true nature of the film is similar to the experience of viewing 2007's Bridge to Terabithia (IMDb site here). That film's trailer stressed the wonder of a magical world while hiding the fact that the movie's content was dominated by the death of one of the young characters.
A trailer review process?
Trailer manipulation is not new and will not go away. But these blatant misrepresentations should not be continued. The downside for studios in this day-and-age is that such misleading marketing is quickly countered by cell phone-toting, email-using young Americans (as well as their parents). While the first wave of families may have entered the theater not suspecting the emotional bombs on screen, many in the follow on wave were soon alerted to the film's contents and avoided it. But not enough.
While it is certainly up to parent's to perform some due diligence on the films they bring their children to, this deliberate effort by the studio to attract more movie goers -- and thus more money -- is not acceptable. Unfortunately, both movies managed to generate enough money for their studios, so aggravated parents cannot rely on market forces to correct this behavior (Marley & Me holds the record for the highest Christmas day release take in the US; Bridge to Terabithia earned over $120 million).
Perhaps just as films are rated for their content, trailers and advertising should be screened-- at least in the case of family fare -- to ensure unsuspecting families are not hoodwinked in the future. But don't hold your breadth. In about a year, we will probably be discussing the next chapter in the saga of deceptive trailers.