News
R-rated 'Sex and City' Hits FTC Curbs
May 30, 2008 – Marketing Sex and the City, which premieres today, was a juggling act for New Line Cinema/Warner Bros. because the R-rated film appealed to underage girls, after a sanitized version of the original HBO TV series ran in broadcast TV syndication, according to a Wall Street Journal
Hollywood major studios have pledged not to market R-rated films in media where 35% of the audience is under the age 17 benchmark (the age cutoff is murky because under age 17 can go if accompanied by parent and guardian). The pledge was made to the Federal Trade Commission when the FTC and Congress in 2000 found numerous examples of film distributors not following their own age-restriction guidelines in marketing (the FTC accord is covered in depth in the book Marketing to Moviegoers).
“Numerous ads for the movie have run during CW’s Gossip Girl, which had an under-18 audience of about 23% this spring, and MTV’s My Super Sweet 16, with about 40%,” notes the article by Lauren A. Schuker.” According to TNS Media Intelligence, 18 Sex and the City commercials have run during MTV's series A Shot at Love With Tila Tequila -- where about 40% of the audience is under 18 -- in recent weeks. Studios often argue that buying time on such programs is necessary in order to reach the 18 to 24-year-old demographic.”
The article also notes: “The teen interest in Sex and the City is somewhat surprising because the $60 million film focuses on the Sex foursome's move into their 40s -- and in one case 50s -- facing problems with marriage, infidelity and starting a family. According to a former HBO executive, in its early stages of development, the film was jokingly referred to as Menopause in the City.”
Note from author Robert Marich. This article ends a cavalcade of postings about Sex and the City, whose product placement and marketing challenges have been extensively chronicled in mainstream media.
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online.wsj.com/article/SB121210779341331307.html
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