Back To The Future
By Todd Wasserman
Tuesday, May 10 2005
Tuesday, May 10 2005
Published on AllBusiness.com
| A long time ago, in a marketing galaxy that was far, far different from today's, Fox launched the original "Star Wars" in 1977 with just one merchandising deal, a modest TV campaign and an opening weekend in only 32 theaters. Alan Ladd Jr., then head of theatrical production at Fox, recalls that "Star Wars'" ad budget hovered around $4 million (about $13 million adjusted for today's dollars). That's less than half the average marketing budget for a 2004 movie, according to the Motion Picture Association of America -- and even in 1977 was considered a puny sum, Ladd remembers. "It was small because it was opening in just a few theaters." That limited run wasn't some kind of Fox marketing tactic, either; the studio was having a hard time selling the film to theater owners (a trailer run at the end of 1976 elicited laughter and groans from audiences, and sci-fi films had an iffy track record back then). But a new territory had recently been pried open, thanks to Universal's success with "Jaws" in 1975, which spent $750,000 on a national TV campaign. Fox decided to go after television as well, and the rest is movie history. Lightspeed forward to the marketing buildup for the final installment in the series, "Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith," which opens May 19. "Sith" is taking place in a different universe: If Fox's spend for TV ads falls in line with what it laid out for 2002's "Star Wars: Episode II -- Attack of the Clones," $17 million out of a total $20 million marketing budget will be spent. But Fox won't be the only one with TV spots for "Sith." Burger King, Cingular Wireless, Frito-Lay, Hasbro, Kellogg's and Pepsico Inc. will advertise tie-in merchandise on television, in print and in store to help give the film a boost. One of the most-buzzed-about toys available this month is a Darth Vader Mr. Potato Head, which Hasbro is touting as "a spud on the Dark Side." By the time of "Sith's" opening weekend, among other tie-ins, Kellogg's will add to that a "Star Wars" cereal, Burger King a child's meal with a toy, Pepsi a "Darth Dew" Slurpee at 7-Eleven, Cingular will provide ringtones and mobile games and Mars Inc. is shelling out no fewer than 72 collectible "Star Wars" wrappers on its M&M's candy. As this is the final episode of the hugely popular "Star Wars" series, such support might seem unwarranted. But Jim Ward, vp marketing and distribution for Lucasfilm, says without such activity, the film might gross "only" about $200 million domestic, versus "Clone's" $310 million domestic total. "What we need to do is go beyond the core audience, not only from a boxoffice perspective but from a brand-management perspective," he says, adding that the Kellogg's association will help reach kids who might not know what "Star Wars" is, while Cingular's tie-in is aimed at young adults. These days, a family-friendly summer release is almost expected to have such support, but in 1977, the idea of a summer blockbuster, much less one with tie-in merchandise, was new. "Star Wars" changed that. Weeks after the film's debut, Fox had only one licensing deal for Halloween costumes but was in the process of hammering out a contract with Kenner for toys. Marc Pevers, who ran Fox's licensing division at the time, says that because of the time crunch, Kenner action figures didn't start appearing until January or February 1978 -- so for holiday presents in 1977, children received empty cardboard boxes with mail-in forms to receive an action figure (Hasbro is reviving that "retro" marketing for "Sith," and fans can receive certificates to get updated versions of classic "Star Wars" action figures). The toys sold so well that by the time "Star Wars" was rereleased in summer 1978, Burger King, the Coca-Cola Co. and Procter & Gamble were offering Star Wars glasses and posters to encourage purchases, giving rise to cross-merchandising. Such activity at the time focused on television rather than product placement in movies. "(Toy makers) wanted 'The Six Million Dollar Man,' they wanted 20 (million)-30 million viewers a week," Pevers says. "Movies could be gone in a week." After the first movie, Fox gave most of the merchandising rights to Lucasfilm. Pevers pleaded with Ladd not to do it, but Ladd recalls that George Lucas held a trump card: "We couldn't do (a sequel) without him." For "Sith," Lucasfilm has had no problem finding potential licensees -- and, in fact, even turned some away. Merchandise for 1999's "Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace" grossed more than $2 billion, a new record, but when many items languished on store shelves, critics said Lucasfilm had overmerchandised the film. "The problem is that everyone miscalculated and overordered," Ward says. So for "Clones," he says, "we scaled way down and targeted just kids." Buildup for "Sith" began in early April, and coverage will hover between "Clones" and "Phantom Menace" in size. But it's still light years from the original "Star Wars. "This time, I think we found a happy medium," Ward says. "We learned a lot and expect it to be a major success." |
