News
'Inception' Sells Sizzle, Mystery
By Robert Marich
July 3, 2010—Marketing to Moviegoers: Second Edition concludes “we live in an era of tell-all trailers” because marketing materials often reveal plot twists, which is a far cry from film promotion of decades ago.
Entertainment Weekly magazine notes that Warner Bros. is taking a page out of the movie marketing history book by being mysterious in marketing Inception, the big-budget sci-fi thriller starring Leonardo DiCaprio scheduled for July 16 premiere.
“At a time when most studios are releasing trailers that leave nothing to the imagination (Salt's seems to reveal the movie's big twist), Warner Bros. is taking the opposite approach,” says the Entertainment Weekly article by Benjamin Svetkey.” Audiences have been told the plot has something to do with dream thieves who insert themselves into the subconscious of others… You can watch the trailer over and over again and still have no idea what the movie is about.”
That’s correct. The EW article points out that the film is a sharp contrast to a summer filled with sequels. Also, in the action thriller category, there’s a lot of parody and satire of the genre, which isn’t working so well so far (Tom Cruise action comedy Knight and Day is posting mediocre box office), while Inception is clearly serious drama.
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