John Gruber

English 137H 027

OHara
Todays movie theaters seem to be perpetually oversaturated with generic
action flicks, rom coms, and awful horror movies full of cheap scares whose primary
audience comes in the form of teenage couples trying to find somewhere to be
alone. And unfortunately, the movies of today are the trailers of last month.
However, every so often a movie comes along that comes up with a marketing
campaign that put all those around it to shame. Something that shows real
creativity and depth, opposed to just loud noises and a two minute summary of
everything one can expect. And while this is a difficult mark to hit, by combining
elements of minimalism, mystery, and innovation, 2009s low-budget sci-fi epic
District 9 managed to do so flawlessly.
In the case of movie trailers, often times less is more. So often trailers
succumb to the trope of condensing every spectacular set piece and stand out joke
into the teaser, ultimately cheapening the viewers enjoyment when they finally get
around to seeing the film, if they even still find it necessary. The best trailers,
however, tend to come in the form of something less narrative and more tonally
engaging. Instead of summarizing the plot of the movie, give the audience a taste
of the setting, the colors, the way the film is lit, just an overall idea of what mood
one should expect going into it. District 9s trailers did an excellent job of
establishing not only the physical setting, but also the prevailing attitudes and
ideologies of the people who lived there. In fact, some of the trailers focused on that
entirely, opting to establish the foundations of the world instead of simply throwing
together a handful of action scenes (of which there were plenty). By doing so,
District 9 is able to immerse its audience into the world it creates before they have
even seen the film, ultimately improving its overall success.

John Gruber
English 137H 027
OHara
Mystery can play a powerful role in successful marketing campaigns, and
when an aura of mystery becomes effectively associated with a movie, it can
greatly improve the overall campaign. Before examining how District 9s marketing
campaign was so successful in this regard, lets first take a look at one of its most
successful predecessors. In the late 90s, audiences across the US were captivated
by The Blair Witch Project in the late 90s. Part of what made it such a successful
campaign was the fact that nobody knew for sure whether or not it was just a clever
marketing campaign, or if these kids really did get taken by something in the
woods. They made grainy, low-budget trailers which were never widely released,
created a website detailing the legend of the Blair Witch and the events that were
said to have taken place surrounding the film, and they even went so far as to credit
the actors a missing, presumed dead, on IMDB, handed out missing person fliers
with the actors faces, and prohibited the actors from making any public
appearances until after the film had been widely released. It was unlike any
marketing campaign that had ever been done before, and has never been
reproduced with nearly the same effect. The amount of intrigue this generated
around the movie was surreal. Everybody had to see the movie for themselves to
finally fit together the pieces of the campaign theyd been following. And by only
giving it a limited release, when people saw it, they felt like they were really a part
of something. While District 9 didnt go to anywhere near the extreme lengths
undertaken by Blair Witch, it invoked a similar sense of mystery and curiosity, and
in some regards felt almost like a spiritual successor to Blair Witch in terms of how it
was marketed. Despite being from two entirely different genres, the District 9
marketing team seemed to draw inspiration from the Blair Witch campaign,
something which surprisingly few marketing teams seem to do nowadays,

John Gruber
English 137H 027
OHara
considering the rampant success it met. All the trailers really told the audience was
that a group of aliens was on earth, unable to leave. Why they were here, why they
couldnt go, anything about them other than the way they looked, none of the
marketing gave any answers. This aura of mystery pulled audiences deeper into
District 9s world, generating increasing interest and enticing them to go to the
theaters and solve the mystery for themselves.
The quality of a movies trailer definitely has the potential to make or break a
films marketing campaign, however it takes more than just trailers to really take
these campaigns to the next level. Effectively incorporating physical media and
more abstract methods of marketing can often push a marketing campaign from
good to great. Going back to Blair Witch, as mentioned above, instead of handing
out regular fliers for the movie, they handed out missing person fliers for the films
cast, which generated much more interest than a more traditional method of
advertising would have. The plot of District 9 is heavily centered on this sort of
racism (for lack of a better word) that many of the humans on earth feel towards
the aliens. The marketing team embraced this idea and made an integral part of
films marketing the Humans Only campaign. Bus stops, benches, bathrooms, all
were plastered with images of crossed out aliens and the words Humans Only as
well as information about potential consequences of violating these laws,
information about the fake government agency in charge of these regulations, and
only subtle clues that it was promotional material for District 9. Now, obviously
people knew that these werent actual laws that had been put in place, but the way
they were presented gave them a certain level of legitimacy which was more likely
to captivate audiences. This again draws on that element of mystery, as audiences

John Gruber
English 137H 027
OHara
arent immediately aware of what it is theyre looking at and may find themselves
more inclined to look into it more deeply. Additionally, once someone does discover
what exactly ads are for, it is more likely that they would leave a more lasting
impression, as it is a far more unique method of advertising compared to the
marketing campaigns of its competitors. By placing such a heavy focus on the
physical marketing of the film, District 9s marketing campaign was able to draw
elements of the film into the real world, aiding in the increased engagement of
audiences with the movie and continuing to increase the general audiences desire
to see the film itself.
However, regardless of the creative prowess or innovative nature of a
marketing campaign, todays market demands that certain aspects be present to
meet modern conventions. While this could have completely undone all of the
aspects which made District 9s campaign so successful, they even managed to
handle the tropes that often plague advertisement with some level of grace and
style. As previously mentioned, District 9 was a low-budget blockbuster (as
oxymoronic as that may sound). The director was unknown, the property was brand
new, and the film largely centers on only one (human) character, played by an
unknown actor. However, District 9s director Neil Blomkamp was, at the time, the
protg of directorial superstar Peter Jackson, best known for the Lord of the Rings
trilogy. Because of his relationship with Blomkamp and his own personal faith in the
film, Jackson took on the role of producer, overseeing a large portion of the films
production. This meant that District 9 was marketed as A Peter Jackson Film and
had his name plastered all over the posters. While this strategy can be nothing
more than a trope when done poorly, as was made painfully clear when Quentin

John Gruber
English 137H 027
OHara
Tarantino presented the 2012 action flick The Man with the Iron Fists, an over-thetop kung-fu movie directed by veteran Wu-Tang Clan member RZA, it can be highly
effective when done well. Whereas Tarantino essentially sold his name to RZA in
hopes of helping his film achieve success without having any personal involvement
in the films production, Jackson was actually invested in seeing District 9 succeed
and actively worked towards bringing that goal to fruition. By making District 9 so
largely associated with the Peter Jackson name, just enough ethos was added to
convince audiences that this unknown property was worth the price of admission,
adding the final piece to the marketing campaign puzzle.
Movies have become so ingrained in modern society that often times they
hardly have to try in order to make themselves known. A slapped together trailer
with a couple highlights from the movie, some generic posters that hardly serve as
anything more than a vehicle to advertise a release date, and a 30-second TV spot
set to whatever song is currently sitting at the top of the charts. However, not all
films fall into these increasingly common pitfalls. District 9 was a film with a small
budget, an unknown director, an unknown cast, and a bizarre premise compared to
most other films that Hollywood churns out. But because of these adversities,
District 9 was forced to work harder to achieve success. What may have originally
seemed like weaknesses went on to give birth to a truly memorable marketing
campaign that wouldnt have come about under any other circumstances. It was a
campaign that intrigued audiences, appealing largely to both the pathos and ethos
of the masses. And considering that it made back its $30 million budget in its
opening weekend and grossed 7 times its initial budget, it would be hard to consider
this campaign anything but a success.

John Gruber
English 137H 027
OHara