2011, 04-18:
Review of film: “THE GREATEST MOVIE EVER SOLD” + EXAMPLES + LETTER from Director Spurlock re the impetus for the film
Official title: “POM WONDERFUL PRESENTS: THE GREATEST MOVIE EVER SOLD”
“He’s not selling out. He’s BUYING IN.”... That’s the tagline for the latest satirical documentary film by MORGAN SPURLOCK (an OSCAR®-nominated director, having done such movies as “SUPER SIZE ME”, “WHERE IN THE WORLD IS OSAMA BIN LADEN”, & others) ...
... More than a decade ago, I spoke to a guy who happily commented about working at the DISNEY Studios in California. When I asked what department he worked in, he explained it was in planning “PRODUCT PLACEMENT”...
... Since it was then a fairly “new” thing, he had to explain that it involved getting companies to offer money or goods or services for making films, in return for having their products SHOWN in the movie as a means of ADVERTISING...
... Since then, that element has become a multi-billion-dollar “industry” in the world of film-making (& similar efforts in TV & the like)... It’s become so “big” and at times “vital” in funding decisions, that it’s become the SUBJECT of Spurlock’s newest film. Further, as a way of financing the new film, he decided to use such placements to pay for MAKING & promoting the movie...
... Morgan has done his usual “HOMEWORK”, in carefully investigating who are the important people in having “grown” the industry. He then INTRODUCES us to these people, who explain the “how” & “why” the business has grown as it has, & they give him ideas of what HE should do to try to get the placement “backers” he wants...
... He’s told, it would be wise to line up some CAR company as a sponsor, some beverage firm, a clothing supplier, and so on, and what to do to “PROMOTE” his idea for the film...
... Morgan thus contacts automaker VW to try to interest them in the idea of becoming a backer. He prepares some clever mock-up ADS to illustrate his various ideas to various companies, but everyone initially tended to be “AFRAID” to be “FIRST” to jump onto his self-concocted “bandwagon”...
... For example, VW sends him an almost arrogant-sounding rejection letter, saying they’d have no interest in having any part of his shall-I-call-it “scheme”...
... We see numerous scenes of Morgan getting ideas for possible movie POSTERS for his concept film, & there’s a bunch of quite FUNNY scenes as he goes around trying to “PITCH” his ideas to various potential sponsors, & his talking to various other filmmakers such as QUENTIN TARANTINO about the subject...
... Morgan gets a kick out of seeing a hair-products brand called “MANE ‘n TAIL”, which makes products for both horses and humans, & “pitches” an idea to them by showing a proposed ad wherein he’s in a tub shampooing himself, his “son”-- & also a Shetland pony!... They think the idea is cute, but are hesitant to come up with any MONEY or the like for the movie...
... At one point, he meets the people who run a pomegranate-based beverage company called POM Wonderful. He shows us the actual “PROPOSAL” he makes to them, & how, tho they’re a bit leery of how people might “respond” to his concept, they’re sincerely INTRIGUED by his idea...
... We see them express their concerns that they be the only beverage company to be a sponsor, that they not be made “fun” of in the movie, that their product be described accurately, etc. And, we’re “happy” for Morgan as he GETS them to be his main ($ 1 million) backer for the film...
... Once one company comes on-board, other companies are more eager to FOLLOW... We see how BMW MINI COOPER agrees to become the official VEHICLE backer of the film, & how he rides around in special Minis to seek other backers...
... He also makes loads of funny comments as he goes around seeking more supporters, such as his comment about how, you’d always want to be traveling around in a “classy” car like a Mini, rather than in something like “a junky VW” or the like!...
... We see how the SHEETZ food / gas convenience store chain becomes a big sponsor, & how he regularly interviews & makes pitches to OTHER prospective backers at their various locations... HYATT jumps on-board as the official HOTEL for the film, & he’s shown staying at various of their locations around the world...
... At one point, he visits São Paulo, Brazil, to show how the politicians there have decreed that there are to be NO advertising signs on billboards or buildings or the like, & what a different “feel” that gives to a city... (Naturally, he seems to stay at a HYATT as he visits the town & interviews people)...
... We see how he chooses one of the proposed “poster” concepts given him, picturing him with a bunch of sponsor LOGOS on his body (an idea seemingly given by an ad guru guy named ENGLISH, who’s credited at the end as being “The World’s Greatest Living Artist”)...
... The official “airline” for the film was planned to be JET BLUE, & we see scenes of Morgan & others in one of their terminals, plus of people even viewing “in-flight” ADS for the upcoming film on the seat-back screens on one of their planes...
... At one point, Morgan has to deal with the LEGAL “ramifications” of his ideas & procedures. He’s shown being counseled by a high-powered lawyer about whether he can say things are the “GREATEST” as long as it’s understood he’s speaking in-effect “tongue-in-cheek”... It’s expected that most sponsors would want “exclusivity” in their brand category in the film...
... And, Morgan worries about how numerous potential backers keep wanting him to sign that they’d have “FINAL APPROVAL” over his completed film... He often gets opinions from, & commiserates with, consumer advocate RALPH NADER during the film (& Morgan recommends a certain product to him)...
... Would those companies expressing a general “interest” in being IN the movie actually come thru with FUNDING the movie as promised?... Will Morgan get what he NEEDS to make the film he envisions?... Will it be a “SELL-OUT” to the providers, or something “more” than that?...
... Will he be able to make the movie the way he WANTED to make it, with full creative control (or will he have to give up the “final APPROVAL” most of the companies wanted in return for their participation)?...
... On “paper”, the subject may look “boring”-- but it’s NOT that way at all. It helps “clue-in” the general public as to “HOW” movie deals often get “done” nowadays, & does it with lots of enjoyable humor along the way...
... Because of the clever and informative and funny (and EFFECTIVE!) way the subject is handled, I’m giving this a rating of 8 out of 10 stars...
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As an aside, I want to offer some ADDITIONAL “Commentaries” about the film in question:
... During the advance screening I attended, “continuing” the theme of PROMOTIONAL efforts for the movie (whose SUBJECT is promotion), the earliest attendees got a shopping bag filled with “GIFTS” from some of the numerous entities helping fund the making and marketing of Morgan’s “Revenge”:
... The bag ITSELF was a “fiber”-like concoction promoting the movie’s chief backer, POM WONDERFUL. The sturdy product says: “This bag used to be plastic bottles... This bag is made from 80% post-consumer waste”...
... Inside the bag is a large coupon saying “Real Deal For You or a Friend”. On it is a large bottle of “POM Wonderful”, with a picture of MORGAN SPURLOCK saying in a “blurb” box (as seen below), “POM Wonderful is the greatest antioxidant you’ll ever drink.” ... The other side contains a coupon for $ 1 off any size, any flavor of the product...
... Also inside the bag was a large plastic cup from one of the other main backers (and early sign-ons) for the film. Emblazoned on it are the words “SCHEETZ Happens / The Greatest Convenience Store Ever Created / See SHEETZ Featured In— [the movie’s name]”...
... Other contents included the following:
... A sample of “SEVENTH GENERATION Natural 2x concentrated Laundry Detergent [Blue Eucalyptus & Lavender], on which is stated: “ ‘In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations.’ -- from the Great Law of the Iroquois [Native American Indian] Confederacy.”...
... Samples of “MANE ‘n TAIL” Shampoo & Conditioner bottles (made by Straight Arrow Products), labeled with a “See Us In—” sticker describing the movie, with instructions on the bottles stating “Directions for HUMAN Use—”...
... An ad for “CARRERA” – “The Greatest Sunglasses You’ll Ever Wear”, with a coupon for $ 25 off the normal price (& featuring a photo of Morgan wearing their product)...
... From “OLD NAVY”, a self-described “Greatest Coupon Ever Printed / $ 15 Off your purchase of $ 75 or more [in STORES only, not online], offer valid 4/18 – 5/15”...
... And, from “AMY’S KITCHEN”, a coupon good thru 12/31/2011 One FREE Product up to $ 10 (Pizza, dinners, Asian, Indian, Mexican or Whole Meals, canned goods, snacks, soups, etc.)... Their web-site (www.amys.com) claims “Amy’s is the Official Pizza of the Greatest Movie Ever Sold.”...
... All-in-all, it struck me as an “ON-THE-BALL” way to continue their involvement in an effort which would (from their end) hopefully carry on the goal of increasing “VISIBILITY” for their brands...
... And, it doesn’t stop there: The movie chain LANDMARK THEATRES will be showing the film in various of its locations. In their announcement of that, they also offered free COUPONS from the film’s backers to the first people attending certain of the screenings at their sites (such as the Century Centre in Chicago)...
... Furthermore, to their “FILM CLUB” members, they sent an “exclusive” letter FROM Morgan Spurlock, giving some information on how he came UP with the IDEA for the film, in which he said this (with emphasis in bold & underlining being mine):
“ The idea for POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold began with a conversation between me and my producing partner and co-writer, Jeremy Chilnick, where we talked about the TV show Heroes and their less than subtle inclusion of the Nissan Rogue into the show's storyline. The conversation quickly grew into a discussion about all the big summer movies, from Transformers to Iron Man to James Bond, and about how all those product placements were more than just advertisements for products, they were tools that made these movies' footprints and awareness even bigger… these... co-promotions helped turn them into blockbusters.
“ That's really when it hit us. If a little movie, even a documentary, had the same type of partnerships and co-promotion opportunities, could it have a bigger presence? Would it have the same influence? Could a doc reach the same level of awareness and marketability of a summer blockbuster? Could it be a... docbuster?
“ Brands are everywhere these days. It seems like I can't go to any event these days without someone sponsoring it: sporting events, concerts, anything. So, why not a movie? Better yet, why not a movie that examines the whole phenomenon that is actually paid for by the companies themselves. That was the jumping off point.
“ Now product placement isn't a new phenomenon. In the 1800s, Jules Verne sold the naming rights to shipping companies in Around the World in 80 Days, and in the early days of film, Thomas Edison put ads for his own products in his movies. But television has always been its own animal. When it first began, shows were actually paid for and written by the advertisers, and the whole purpose was to sell a product. (Let's not forget that soap operas were created by soap companies for the sole purpose of selling more soap to moms!)
“ But as the popularity of film and television grew, the power of the advertisers diminished. It became about star power. It became about the content of the shows and the creativity of their creators. Over the last few decades though, that power has slowly been chipped away as more and more networks and outlets are competing for the same ad dollars and the same eyeballs. And so, the advertisers began to have power again, not only to get the air-time they wanted, but with the ability to dictate the content.
“ This film explores the give and take that happens when you play the game or at least what happens when you try, and I think the film will open a lot of people's eyes to the unbelievable conversations and situations that happen behind closed doors everyday in the entertainment and advertising businesses. It doesn‘t matter if you're a writer, director, producer, or musician, you are affected by this on some level… but not nearly as much as the consumer. ”
... Personally, I feel that Morgan’s project was very CLEVERLY handled, & those that put up money & the like to be in the movie will likely get far MORE “RETURN” on their dollars and efforts than the cost and labors they expended!... The whole thing will generate a good deal of “buzz”, & we can always do with more “thought-provoking” efforts in today’s world!...
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