I would have loved to be a fly on the wall back in a cozy Columbia executive boardroom circa 1987/1988. I can imagine the conversation started something a lot like this: “That Real Ghostbusters show is really doing gangbusters.” (Pause for a chuckle because of the poor play on words. I should also mention that this voice sounds something akin to a stereotypical newspaper tycoon with a snide accent.) “You know what we should do with this new Ghostbusters picture? We should gear it more toward those youngsters, then we really can’t lose.”
And you can’t blame them; take a look at the result. Ghostbusters continues to be a cultural phenomenon all these years later. However, many of the biggest trepidations toward the second Ghostbusters film amongst the fanboys involve how it opened up to a wider (read: younger) audience. The boys weren’t smoking anymore. They were watching their language. And let me tell you, did Slimer love Fuji Film. I may or may not be remembering that last one incorrectly… hindsight is 20/20.
It’s for this reason, that I’m extremely curious to see how the new Ghostbusters film is going to be directed, marketed and packaged.
Let’s set aside the five digits worth of folks that we call the Ghostheads, just for the purposes of this analysis. You know I love you all, otherwise I wouldn’t be writing this. And we can assume that, barring some major disaster like learning Oscar swings from vines with monkeys, each and every registered member on GB Fans, Proton Charging, and GBN are going to be shoe-ins for a movie ticket – you can’t tell me that if you’ve made it to this fourth paragraph in my column on a Ghostbusters fansite that you’re NOT going to buy a ticket to a new Ghostbusters film and all the merch to accompany it. But much as we’d like to be the center of the universe, those numbers are only a fraction of the ticket sales and merchandising sales that need to occur for Ghostbusters III to be considered as big of a hit as its predecessors.
Which is the origin of my curiosity… the marketing and licensing folks (not to mention all of our heroes currently behind the scenes building the foundation for the upcoming movie) have a whole lot of masters to serve come Summer of 20—-datapacketlost—- when Ghostbusters III is released. They have to appease fanboys, adults, and appeal to kids that may only vaguely be familiar with what Ghostbusters is (if at all).
Want to hear my thinly thought through, nowhere near professional but common sense way of how I’d handle it? I thought you’d never ask…
You’ve gotta get the adults back that remember the first films fondly. Nostalgia will only get you so far (otherwise look at all the remake films that should have been huge hits but tanked like McHale’s Navy), so you have to remind those that grew up on or were already adults for the first two films that the movie was damn funny and entertaining and this one is going to be just as much so. Tag an original filmed in-character commercial with Peter and Ray sitting down to watch the Super Bowl that airs during said event and get a good laugh out of millions of the adult movie-going crowd right away… forget the smash-bang-CGI-filled teaser trailer or TV spot, what’s really going to get the adults into the swing is if they know that this is going to make The Hangover look like a Sunday Mass at the Ol’ St. Mary’s.
But that just gets the old folks in the door. Remember for this movie to be a smash hit you need to have ten-year old kids out on the playground using their backpacks as Proton Packs and being fuelled by the Ghostbusters themed breakfast cereal that you fed them earlier in the morning. So both the film itself and all of the advertising and merchandising needs to find a way to capture that same energy the first Ghostbusters had. It needs to teeter on that edge of the visuals and concepts being stimulating to the little guys, but the adults getting the laugh that the kids might not understand.
And mind you, I said that it needs to teeter on the edge… it should not favor either direction. If you cast a Jonas Brother in a role, you’ve pushed the border well past its limits. That’s not to say that a certain role can’t be appealing to the Teen Beat demographic, they better well make sure that the adults can stomach him or her too. I should mention at this point, to no detriment of his talents or abilities, my parents aren’t big Michael Cera fans. Sorry, Mike. Loved you in Arrested Development, if it hurts the sting a bit? My parents also were a part of the rip in the space-time continuum that made Wild Hogs a hit so…
It’s a fact that the change fearing Ghostheads will quickly have to comfort themselves about, it is still called show business and the good business sense tells every party involved that if they can get (dear God, am I really saying this) the 8 to 80 male and female crowd all buying tickets and eating Happy Meals, the Ghostbusters won’t just be saving the world in the summer, they’ll be saving the economy too.
Speaking of the economy and buying things, another interesting quandary is that you have the adult collectors and us Ghosthead Comic-Con going fanboys, which people have written entire dissertations trying to understand, that are wandering the toy isles and pushing little kids out of the way in order to be the first to buy swag. So in order to rake in the sales, you’ll need to set up a merchandise scheme that appeases both the kids and the adult collectors. I’ve really liked how Mattel has been handling Avatar, Dark Knight, and several others of their tie-in properties. You’ve got a line for the kids, but you also have a higher price point collector’s line that caters other needs. Hopefully all of the Ghostbusters merch will follow a similar suite.
Any which way you slice it or listen to me circuitously ramble about it, I’m sure that there’s already several binders filled with statistical data and analysis strategies and plans that have been mapped out for Ghostbusters III. It’s going to be an interesting ride that I can’t wait to witness.
And spend lots of money on.
Happy New Year to you all, looking forward to many more Private Sector columns to come. As always, if you have questions, comments, or just want to point out that you’ve caught onto my drivel, drop me a line at netsolo@aol.com and let me know.
(The Private Sector is a weekly syndicated column written by Troy Benjamin presented every Wednesday on Proton Charging, Ghostbusters.net, and GB Fans as an op-ed look at the goings on in the world of the Ghostbusters franchise. Learn more about Troy at www.troybenjamin.com)
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Ack, caught a typo after the article was submitted to the guys… I should be “healing” Michael Cera, not “hurting”… way to ruin the joke, Troy.
Very well said Troy.. Hell for a teaser poster just feature the circle with the bar thru it and make it red.. Most people will know what that is from the moment they see it.. old people to young people.
I just hope they dont over do it like Gb2 cause that was awfull.. hense why they didnt get most of there money back.
I had to cross the border from Canada to the U.S in ’89 to get the Hardee’s GB 2 cup and Ghostblaster noisemakers. – I still have them.
Here’s my pitch as far as trailers go: I always imagined that an original concept would be to create a series of “true” teasers that involved crossovers with other film studios. For example, a trailer that begins with what appears to be a fly-through of a star field in space, accompanied by a voiceover that says something like “When the unexplainable happens, sometimes we need the help of a new generation” – as what appears to be the USS Enterprise comes into view. We pan to the bridge to see the entire ‘Star Trek the Next Generation’ crew, and the audience is thinking – “Hey, sweet! I didn’t know they were making another Next Generation movie!” or, moreso: “Aw, Jesus, not another one of those goddamn Star Trek movies”. And just as Captain Picard stands up out of his chair and says “Engage!”, a rear door slides open and Ray, Peter and a rookie run in, only to have the rookie blast Worf with his particle thrower. He’s quickly stopped by Peter as Picard yells “What the hell are you doing?!” Worf is still smoking as an ashamed Rookie speaks: “Sorry”. Ray: “Sorry”. Peter: “Yeah, he’s still a little premature… nice unitard by the way.”
Cue theme song accompanied by 12 really quick cuts from the REAL movie as the voiceover reads: “When the Universe needs saving – who ya gonna call?” Flash back to Peter handing a burnt Worf a business card as he says “Try putting a little Aloe on that.”
This may sound ridiculous, and it’s certainly a big “wink” at the audience, as it suspends belief within the Ghostbusters universe, but it could also be incredibly engaging. I like the idea of tricking the audience. It might be a great way to reintroduce characters without getting a negative and sarcastic reaction when the viewers can’t see past the original team’s current age. If they made 5 or 6 teasers lampooning other movies, it could become a really viral experience where, all of a sudden, word of mouth drives people to the theatres and they begin to ask each other “which one was before your movie?”. I chose Star Trek as an example here, but fake sequels to the Exorcist, the Ring, Casper the friendly Ghost, Watchmen – these are all fodder to parody.
Laugh and reject it if you like, but you have to admit it hasn’t been done before. Sorry ’bout the long post Castewar.
Wow. I like that concept quite a bit actually, Nev. I think it certainly draws in both crowds as Netsolo mentions. It grabs the new generation with that they’re trending on but also has a tongue n cheek humor that all of us would grasp. Plus, to the fanboys, the idea of the GBs trumping other “icons” just makes it that much sweeter.
And yes I agree, it will be an interesting ride to the end.
I couldn’t stop laughing when i read your idea for the teaser trailer Nev, but had to muffle it a bit as i was at work. I love this idea, and it can be done in numerous of ways. It’s engaging, and it is viral which would be the best way to get everyone talking about it. I also liked Troy’s idea in the article of the gb’s sitting down to watch the super bowl, etc.
It’s those types of commercials that remind you it is a charachter driven film (Here’s Hoping) and not a special fx film of the summer.
I love the article and keep up the good work! Happy New year also!
i disagree, and that teaser concept is incredibly lame. you should ask your mom to let you out of the house a little more often.
net’s pete and ray watching the superbowl while the superbowl is going on is an even bigger wink to the fans, new, old, young, and basement dwelling.
anyone remember the 1800 number they had when it first came out? thats what that teaser is. and if they did it again? that would be rad. but parodying another movie with ghostbusters? stupid.
Your idea for the trailers is great Nev! It would be awesome to see GBs bust in on a bevis and but-head scene. Or one of those Twilight scenes (am I the only one that thinks the guy that plays Edward looks like a drug addict?). Heck, I could see them appearing in the house in Paranormal Activity.
With that said… You Tube has an endless assortment of videos labled as GB trailers which were done by splicing video and sound from GB as well as several other films. Still, an actual GB3 trailer done Nevs way would be cool.
Great article!
I agree with most of what you proposed, Troy, but I don’t see a media blitz coming like that for a third film. You have to remember nearly all the merchandise released back when we were kids in the late 80s/very early 90s was all Real Ghostbusters related. It’s not that there wasn’t a market for movie based merchandise of course, but keep in mind that the toys, sleeping bags, clothing.. all RGB. Now that goes without saying since the show itself was huge. But you’re not going to see a film like this be hyped or marketed the same way the franchise was back then.
Look at all of the new merch. The action figures are specifically being made for an adult collector.. you can’t even buy them in the stores. The comics are difficult to find unless ordered online. Although I’ll admit this is by far the most movie-related merchandise we’ve ever had at one time, I can’t see Sony plugging this to the extent of a whole new line of toys (for the kids who would be our age during the initial fandom) and all of this stuff aimed towards the younger crowd. I’m sure we’ll get a Pepsi and Doritos promotion, t-shirts, other miscellaneous stuff, but it won’t be the same as we had in our youth.
In my honest opinion this film is going to be marketed for nostalgia purposes. Yes, we know there’s a new team and all that, but unless Cartoon Network picks up some new animated series following the new team and we have “Who Ya Gonna Call?” thrown in to daily pop culture quips, I don’t see it happening.
Maybe I’m naive. Maybe I’m a bit cynical. I’ve been around this community for a long time and through thick and thin. The resurrection of the Ghostbusters franchise is real this time: I just don’t know if I see it as you’d like it. Although that would be awesome.
Gee, thanks for the constructive criticism Hamburglar.
Don’t you think, “nah, I don’t really like that idea”, would’ve been enough?
Nah, I don’t really like that idea.
@Nev -
I think your heart is in the right place, but gotta remember — Ghostbusters (despite all the elements of the fantastical contained within) is still based in reality. So teasing the movie in something that I find akin to a trailer you’d see for one of the (awful) parody movies like Epic Movie, Scary Movie, ____ Movie, probably isn’t the best way to go. It’s not a parody so I doubt them trying to sell it as such.
Not to demerit your idea (nor the Twilight idea), of course – just some food for thought… If the original Ghostbusters film’s trailer was setup like a trailer for The Exorcist, and then all of a sudden you heard a record scratch and saw Bill Murray, I bet you would have thought it was a totally different movie than the film we’ve all come to know and love, right?
@Matt
Interesting viewpoint. I have a feeling that this movie’s gonna cost SPE a good chunk of change though… going to be a lot of suits involved that don’t really care about nostalgia, just green pieces of paper that buy them new Bentleys.
Fair enough.
My point was that the marketing behind the re-introduction of this series is going to have to do something really ingenious to convince the audience that it’s all worth visiting again, and should most likely do so with its tongue planted firmly in its cheek.
We’re all die-hards here, so we can’t help but see it all through rose-colored glasses sometimes, but let’s face it, these dudes are old. When Ghostbusters 2 came out, Milli Vanilli was the hottest new shit on the pop charts, and the Berlin Wall had yet to fall. If you showed me a picture of Harold Ramis as he looks today back in 1989, I wouldn’t know who the hell he is.
And for the most part, that’s the kind of baggage the casual filmgoer carries with them as they’re presented with the possibility of a sequel to a film that last hit the screens over 20 years ago. The majority of the people I’ve spoken to about this (all of whom were alive to see either the first or second films when they came out – so I can’t vouch for the younger demographic) think that a sequel is the most ridiculous thing in the world. Family, friends, – even friends who are working in VFX and may very well work on this film think that a sequel is totally unnecessary, and in some cases, – laughable to the point of embarrassment. (Hey, I didn’t say it).
So, the question I’m asking is, what’s it going to take to persuade this demographic to give a new film a chance without dismissing it outright? In a case like this, the trailer is going to be more important than we may think, so for everyone’s sake, I just hope it’s something progressive.
That is all.
@NEV
Well said, all the more reason it’ll be incredibly scrutinized.
And incredibly difficult.
As a superfan, be assured that my 5-year-old loves Ghostbusters, has seen the cartoon, and is familiar with the movies and of course the new video game.
However, I’m not so sure GB3 needs to be marketed to kids. I hope the movie isn’t aimed at kids, either. All of those sensitive ears they were trying not to offend in GB2… attention writers: we are all adults now. Not that I want the Ghostbusters to sound like characters on Deadwood. But how about some dialogue that represents how adults talk to one another?
For example, in GB2 when Louis said he was trapped in an elevator and “had to make the whole time,” this is possibly one of the stupidest lines of dialogue–ever. This simply was not funny at all, because the audience is too distracted by the fact that no one uses the term “make.” It’s so dumb that it makes me hate Louis for the rest of the movie. Now, I would have howled laughing if Louis had said “and I had to shit the whole time!” Even a cleaner “and I had to piss/pee/take a dump the whole time” would have been funnier than “make”.
Anyway, I think it is more realistic that the grownups will drag the kids to GB3 rather than the other way around.
Nev – I hate to break it to you, but your idea is not very original. Disney did it for Lilo & Stitch. They had a bunch of trailers that, at first, seemed like scenes from Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, and a few other films. But at some point Stitch would come in and muck things up, leading into the real trailer with scenes from Lilo & Stitch. All of them are collected on the Lilo & Stitch DVD, but since I don’t have it, I can’t tell you how many there were and what the other “parodied” films were.
I’m sure you realize that all of your noted crossover films – Star Trek the Next Generation, The Exorcist, Casper, The Ring, Watchmen – are not owned by Sony. The only way Sony would do your idea is with other films that they own – of which there is no shortage in their HUGE library.
Now, I would have howled laughing if Louis had said “and I had to shit the whole time!” Even a cleaner “and I had to piss/pee/take a dump the whole time” would have been funnier than “make”.
My older brother took my younger brother to see GB2 at the local picture house. My younger brother (4 at the time) loved GB’s (we all did), but absolutely ‘made’ a turtlehead when Vigo appeared out of the painting. So upset was he that they had to leave the cinema. Howling!
Oh how I laughed! AND LAUGHED!
Turtlehead?!
HA HA HA HA!!!
I laughed out loud here at work when I read that.
Let’s just say he had a religious experience. He quite literally became a man of the cloth clergy.
…touched cloth, that is!