I aint afraid of no lunch box

I aint afraid of no lunch Box 

Ghostbusters and synergetic marketing techniques of the 1980s

The 1980s was a period that was characterized by the “high-concept” film; these films unlike the experimental cinema of the 1970s were designed and packaged for a mass audience appeal. High-concept plots could be easily summed up in one or two sentences and were there for easy to market. Though the experimental nature of films in the 70s pushed boundaries and innovated the industry ticket sales were dropping off by the end of the decade. High-concept films however do have their roots in the late 70s with the emergence of what is now known as the Blockbuster.  Films like Jaws (1975), Saturday night Fever (1977), Star wars (1977) and Alien (1979) lead the way for the high -concept film in the 1980s and producer Don Simpson was at the forefront of this new phenomenon.

The 1980s brought MTV and so a whole new generation of audience. Simpson was the first producer to really start exploiting the significance of MTV. His films fitted in with what audiences wanted action-packed, loud, flashy, simplistic, and tightly-structured and so brought audiences back to the cinemas. Films like Flashdance (1983), Beverly Hills Cop (1984) and Top Gun (1986) kept the MTV generation coming back to the cinema year after year. The result of films like this was films were not designed to be thought provoking but for sheer entertainment value to suit the low-brow teen audience. This can be seen in many films from the 80s i.e. Die Hard, Bill and Teds excellent adventure, Back to the Future.

This new model of film meant that Film Company’s were now looking for the next blockbuster that everyone including international audience would find appealing and used demographics t help seek out the next big movie event. These big event films had very high production costs with everything that films like Top Gun and Flashdance brought to the table, i.e. dazzling special effects, sophisticated sound tracks, mega-marketing budgets, and costly highly-paid stars. Though the films budgets ran into the millions production companies knew they would get a larger return on their investments and released their products at peak times for audiences i.e. summer or winter holidays. This turned the film industry into more of a business than ever before. This new business head the film industry developed lead to more synergistic marketing techniques as I will now go on to discuss.

George Lucas is a name strongly associated with the word blockbuster and his works inevitably contributed to 80s “high-concept” cinema. Most notable of his film legacies are Star Wars and Indiana Jones.  In the late 1970s 20^th Century Fox cut a deal with George Lucas for writing and directing “Star Wars” giving Lucas the control over merchandising rights. This it turns out was to become a massive error for the studio. Star wars became a massive success with its back to basics fairytale story plot and morality, defined quirky characters people could connect with, and all round action and adventure. People were queuing round the corner to see the movie and many watched the film up to 5 times making it one of film histories highest grossing films. With the success of the film related merchandise flew off the shelves. Everything from action figures, comic books, posters masks, to lunchboxes and light sabres were eaten up by the hungry Star Wars fans. The soundtrack also reached the top of the charts. With Lucas owning the rights to Merchandise he made a  fortune off the back of the film and with his sequels and prequels to the franchise he is now one of the most powerful film directors of all time.

There are many reasons why Star Wars was such a huge phenomenon and why it was such a good film from a merchandising point of view. Firstly the film catered to most audiences. The film was a mix of what Lucas had seen during his childhood in Saturday night sci-fi matinees, westerns and swashbuckling heroics. For example the light sabre fights the dodgy bar full of low lives and the quirky characters like Jabba which resembles characters like “The Blob” from Saturday matinees. These elements made the film appealing to not only a sci-fi audience but the general public who were in search for action and thrills. The witty one liner’s from Han Solo and the romantic love triangle between Skywalker, Solo and Lea also made the film appealing to parents. But the film was mostly successful in terms of a children audience it had a almost fairytale like plot which was easy for young children and adults alike to follow, along with this came identifiable characters that and audience could relate to and there for find a favourite. For example the heroic Luke Skywalker or Han Solo or the Villain character of Darth Vader. The film also had a host of quirky colourful characters for example the robots C3-PO or R2-D2, or the Wookie Chewbacca. From a marketing point of view this meant toys of certain characters would sell very well making a profit and because you really need a few other characters for your favourite character to play with it gave the toys a collectability factor. These characters appearance could also be put on other things such as lunchboxes and pencil cases again which would make a profit.

Now after the success of 6 Star Wars films and massive amounts of Merchandising to go along with that Lucas is now funding his own studio with the profits he made in merchandise, while 20^th century fox made only a small amount from distributing the film in comparison.  Star wars then showed the film industry the potential of movie merchandising and contributed another synergistic marketing technique for films to make money.

In 1984 Ghostbusters was released, the film centred around three distinct characters the brain Egon, the fool Ray and the mouth Peter played by Bill Murrey, scientists who become a ghost removal service. T he plot like many films at the time was simple three ghost hunters take on an evil presence set to destroy New York. The film was a blend of comedy and action in a light horror package that suited most audiences. For children the mix of imaginative ghosts like slimer and the stay puff marshmallow man and the goofy characters like Ray and Louise was highly appealing as was their car and laze firing proton packs. For the adults in the audience the wise cracking Bill Murrey character with his sarcastic jokes would have been a massive appeal as would many of the adult jokes put into the film, for example when Winston the black character in the film is explaining what he’s seen working for the Ghostbusters he says “I’ve seen shit that will turn you white”. Ghostbusters is also a reflection of the time in many ways and includes in the film some of the marketing devices that were being used at this period in time. For example in the advert for their Ghost removal service they mention that they will give away a free “Ghostbusters” mug with every call reflecting reality. The Ghostbusters logo is also a tool used during this time to promote and one that this film used in many ways outside of the film to promote merchandise. The car also is designed to be one big advert with its flashing lights, unique siren and for hire screen.

With the success of Ghostbusters the merchandise was very popular especially the toys, children wanted the chance to fulfil their destiny and become Ghostbusters. When Kenner brought out their Ghostbusters toy range it gave kids the best opportunity for parents to waste money on ridiculous toys and accessories. As with the Star Wars toys audiences would want their favourite characters whether it be Slimer, Egon or the Marshmallow man and again with this comes the collectability factor as the characters in the films are a team and there for you need a team before you can act out the film. The Ghostbusters car was also available; the car in the film is just as much of a character as the actual main characters with its flashing lights and brash siren, this toy would also be very appealing for children with their growing Ghostbusters figure collection growing. The most popular toy Kenner probably brought out was the replica proton pack, which was no more than a back pack with a wire connecting a noisy hose thing; this toy however was like the light sabre was to Star Wars and allowed children to truly play as Ghostbusters. Like in the film where the audience was encouraged to call the Ghostbusters to receive a free mug, children were encouraged to collect vouchers from the toys to receive a free watch showing how life can imitate art. As mentioned before the Ghostbusters  logo was put to many things in order to sell merchandise for example the very first three litre bottle of Pepsi  was actually called the “Ghostbusters” and Kenner also released a toy shaving kit for children to “play shaving” with the Ghostbusters logo on it. As mentioned before merchandising became a big marketing tool in the 80s, and anything and everything with a Ghostbusters logo on it would be lapped up by the audience creating lots of money for the film maker, also by seeing the Ghostbusters logo everywhere you went also meant that the actual film was being promoted at the same time.

 As well as merchandising Ghostbusters also highlights another synergetic marketing technique developed in the 80s. With the development of MTV came the music video and many songs brought out at the time for movies used film footage or the characters from the film to promote the song.  For example in the official music video by Ray parker Jr it shows Park Jr haunting a woman in neon haunted house, this is cut with shots of celebrities at the time for example Chevy Chase saying the line “Ghostbusters” after Parker Jr says “ Who you gonna call?”. It is also cut with a montage of the best bits of the film showing off the stars, the ghostly characters and the special effects. Many films in the 80s also incorporated elements of the music video in the film. For example in the Breakfast Club a film about a group of teenagers discussing who they really are during a 8 hour detention session, the drama is split up with completely random scenes of the cast dancing to songs of the time. Another example of this is in Top Gun, there is a completely pointless scene of a group of men playing volley ball to another cheesy 80s hit. Ghostbusters at least doesn’t have a random dance in the middle of it but does promote the song.  Films of the 80s promoted the music in the same way the music video promoted the film meaning both would sell of the back of each other.

With the success of Ghostbusters came the cartoon series “The Real Ghostbusters” in 1986 this continued from where the film left off but didn’t have the voices of the original cast they were also joined by Slimer who is now a friendly ghost side kick. This cartoon continued way after the sequel to Ghostbusters, Ghostbusters 2 had been released and even had a spin off series called Slimer and the Ghostbusters. By releasing a cartoon series after the success of the film meant it would keep interest in the franchise up and meant they could keep selling merchandise and keep making money. They could also sell the series to television stations making money of that and of course fans could buy the cartoons all making a profit.

With the cartoon keeping the audience interested in the franchise in 1989 Ghostbusters 2 was released with the same recognisable cast and basically the same simple story, i.e. Ghostbusters find a evil spirit terrorising the city, Ghostbusters battle the evil in a spectacular end sequence. This basic formula is used again as the film’s producers know it works and will keep the audience entertained. Like in the first one they also use adverts to promote themselves again showing signs of the time, and like with the Ray Parker Jr sound track it also has a catchy sound track for sale purposes. Many films in the 80s went on to have sequels or were actually sequels to more successful films, there were many films that also used the same formula in an attempt to cash in on more popular films. A good example of this is with Top Gun, a very successful film which was replicated in terms of formula in the 1990 film Days of Thunder.

A final example of synergetic marketing techniques developed in the 80s was product placement. When Steven Spielberg was filming E.T. he approached the Mars Company in an effort to make MnMs the choice snack of the alien they refused and instead Reces Pieces were used. From the success of the film Reces Pieces sales increased dramatically.

These days you can still see many of the synergetic marketing techniques developed in the 1980s. Film makers have seen the potential of massive blockbuster films that will bring audiences into cinemas. A good example of this these days is the current trend with the superhero films or even the new Star Wars films. These films like in the 80s are still shown during peak times like at summer holidays. Film makers have also seen the major potential of merchandising a good example of a quite recent film was Toy Story where he Buzz light year doll was the hottest thing to get back in the Christmas of 1995. Films are always being merchandised to completely random products for example the latest James Bond film saw the release of a James Bond scratch card, the films was also advertised on Coca Cola adverts. Film makers are also these days making films pretty much just to shift merchandise for example the transformers film was a film based around a toy and cartoon series. With MTV growing over the years since the 80s and many other music channels becoming available the music video has become bigger than ever so the exposure for music videos for films has became even greater and so the budgets are now huge for them yet they still use the basic formula used in the 80s. Finally product placement has taken off in a big way after what happened with E.T. many films these days feature the products of many top companies. A recent example of this is the film I. Robot. The film was basically used to release the new Audi series as all the cars though futuristic in the film were Audis. On the release of the new series the cars featured allot of the same design feature shown in the movie.