My Reaction to the Film the Greatest Ever Sold - Movie Review Example

?I. Summary of my reaction to the film The Greatest Movie Ever Sold When the assignment was given to us to provide a summary about the Greatest MovieEver Sold, I thought the whole movie was just a fiction. I did not realize that it was in fact a documentary where the filmaker, Mr. Morgan Spurlock, was actually making a movie involving real brands that will finance the movie. My initial impression was that it was like doing a school project but doing it big time because the brands that were involved were not fictional and it was actually shown in real theaters (I have not watch the film prior to this). It was a bold movie because Morgan Spurlock is actually making a movie that shows how prevalent advertising and product placements in our daily lives are. The movie started showing how ubiquitous brand messages are in our lives. That from the day we wake up until we sleep, we are bombarded with advertising messages. But basically I know this already that advertising are everywhere. It was however a prelude, or a case build up, of Mr. Spurlocks intention to create a movie that will show the flip flop of advertising and yet, make companies pay for it. I am not sure if it was deliberate or a coincidence with how the film evolved that Mr. Spurlock had an initial difficulty of selling his idea to companies. During the first phase of the film, his meeting with advertising executives was met with hesitance and fear. It illustrated the normal reaction of companies to be anxious about being included in a film that they do not know how will they be perceived by the audience. These brands spent millions if not billions of dollars to build their image to become what they are today and it is normal that they are going to be protective of their brands. At one point, an executive told Mr. Spurlock to turn the camera off and I thought he already had a deal that was actually documented. All the while, as told by Mr. Spurlock himself, that they do not want to be a part of it. I already expected this part of the movie. Of course companies are going to be worried that they might make a fool of themselves in a movie that will feature how offensive advertising are getting now. Moreso, that they are going to pay for it. It is like frying themselves with their own oil if the film actually negatively projects them. As the film progresses in this part, I was wondering how Mr. Spurlock is going to convince advertisers to actually pay for his film that will show how much these companies are bombarding the consumers with its advertisements. But the lessons actually starts here which I myself learned a lot. After this initial failure, Mr. Spurlock asked around on how is he going to get advertisers pay for his film. It was not only a tutorial to him but also to the audience especially to students like me. During this process of asking around, I understood what brand collateral really meant when it was applied in real world marketing. Of all the things that has been said about it, it just meant “what do you bring on the table?” or “what are you offering?” I also learned what brand personality was when Mr. Spurlock consulted what brands will most likely support him. He met with an Analyst (I think she was a pyschoanalyst) and from there he realized what kind of brand Mr. Spurlock is. He is playful and risk taker which is quite unusual. Because typically people are fearful of the unknown which is part of human nature. Both Mr. Spurlock embraces risk and adventure as part of his personality. He was advised that the brands that will most likely to support him are brands that shares his personality. Armed with this new set knowledge, his previous research seemed to work. He had a meeting with Ban deodorant whom he struck a conditional agreement that if he convinces 15 others to be a part of his film, then they are in. I was smiling in this part of the movie thinking that hard work really pays and knowing how to do things really pays off. I also had the feeling that Mr. Spurlock’s moment that his break is already coming in when he talked to Lawyer Rick Kurnit, a partner of Frankfurt Kurnit Klein and Selz PC law office. He was supposed to be charged $770 per hour but instead, Lawyer Rick Kurnit replied that advertising has value and the question is, “how much will it cost me to part of the film? From there, everything is already a succession of success stories. The big break came when Mr. Spurlock had a meeting with POM wonderful who were willing to pay $1 million to be a “X brand of the film”. The contracts that so many stipulations and the school’s willingness to accommodate brands are only illustrations who pervasive and sometimes, limiting brands are. What I personally admire about those brands who participated in Mr. Spulock’s movie The Greatest Movie Ever Sold was their openness and to some extent admission to the idea that brands are really pervasive. I thought these brands are a good sport. They are willing to take risk not only to be a part of a movie, but will also pay for such part that will subtlely criticize their marketing efforts. I believe the risk paid off. After finishing the film, my respect about these companies was not diminished. After all, they have to deliver their message to stand out in a market that is highly competitive. They have to advertise, otherwise they will be pushed out of the market. II. Four instances of product placement not mentioned in the movie that was noticed (reaction) There were 16 products that were placed in the movie The Greatest Movie Ever Sold. The brand X was POM wonderful and the others were, Ban, Jet Airways, Hyat Hotel, Merrell, Minicooper to name a few. But there were also others that were prominently mentioned and displayed that did not pay for their exposure in the film. The most prominet to mention were; a. Volkswagen – the brand was mentioned and even displayed several times in the movie. In some part it was even longer especially when Volkswagen’s fax message that Mr. Spurlock has to be read in the film that it was not in the company’s best interest to be a part of the movie. I was turned off by volkswagen’s refusal to be officially included in the film because it already was included and did not pay for it. b. Iron man’s Audi Car – The car was prominently displayed and mentioned in the first part of the film. I wonder if Mr. Spurlock even tried to get it as part of the sponsor of the film. The car was nicely placed in the movie that I liked it more than my initial preference for the car; that if only I can afford it, I would have bought the car. c. The Iron Man movie - I know the movie’s showing is already over. But with the exposure given it to, it should have been one of the paying companies or sponsor of the film. Not only was it mentioned and displayed, it was even featured in some part of the film. I used to like the movie but after its “overexposure” in the film The Greatest Movie Ever Sold” I lost my interest with the movie Iron Man. d. KFC – My reaction to KFC’s metnion in the movie was disgust. Because the part that it was shown was about “truth in advertising”. I know for a fact that KFC is not being truthful to its advertisement because it did not mention how it grows its oversized its chicken that they are feeding it with chemicals to make them grow bigger in a short period of time. Read More