Worst Marketing you've seen. - Page 3

Posted: 9/28/16 at 4:16am

Kad said: "In recent memory, I'd have to say the Side Show revival. It was vague and generically show-biz. The production was never gonna be a hit, but c'mon. It's a show about conjoined twins. Do something interesting with the posters.

 

I thought the posters for Side Show were beautiful (a shot of the conjoined sisters from behind, one looking one way, the other looking the other) -- but then I saw the show and loved ALL the geeks so much that I couldn't believe they weren't part of the advertising.

At curtain call it was clear how much the audience loved them, too. Oh, the sisters were terrific, but there was so much more to that show, and that one shot of the sisters from behind just didn't even hint at that. 

 

 


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[10086sunset]

Posted: 9/28/16 at 12:00pm

Amazing Grace is up there...

[Ado Annie D'Ysquith]

Posted: 9/28/16 at 4:03pm

phan24, my bf actually attended a performance of that Godspell! I recognize the image from his Facebook event feed. How weird!

[Sorry-Grateful]

Posted: 9/28/16 at 5:24pm

The marketing material for A Tale of Two Cities ...the Musical looked like someone made it quickly in Microsoft Paint. Every bit of promotional material for that show telegraphed that it was boring, plain, and uninteresting.

[ageorges3]

Posted: 9/28/16 at 5:52pm

Agree about the N2N theater-specific marketing being awesome - I thought the headshots they had (Tveit, Damiano) were a cool way for folks passing by the Booth to get the sense that the show had something to do with a family (plus most shows - and I love this type of marketing just as much - have what I sometimes refer to as "Joan Marcus" - esque marketing: photos taken by pros like Marcus blown up and pasted on a theater facade.  It's an equally valid form of marketing.  Most productions relied on stuff like that for years, but at the same time, seeing something new and inventive (huge headshots on the doors entering the Booth, Something Rotten's whimsical and self-referential/denigrating marketing) does something to you to.

I call it the "Geico" effect.  Different when applied to theater marketing, but the principle is the same: whether its over the air (Geico) or on a theater facade/marquee (Something Rotten) - smart and funny advertising draws the eye, it elicits interest, it makes people chuckle (I loved the stuff the Something Rotten guys came up with - it conveyed that the show was a comedy and it expresses the fact that audiences are seeing a show that doesn't take itself too seriously at the same time).  

[Alex Kulak2]

Posted: 9/28/16 at 5:57pm

God, that's the Tale of Two Cities poster? I made more interesting posters for the musicals I did in High School. I'd be more upset, but to be fair, that poster is about as interesting as the book it's based on. 

[bdn223]

Posted: 9/28/16 at 6:54pm

Hands on a Hardbody hands down (no pun intended) had not only the one of the worst but laziest marketing campaign's ever.

The show's about a contest where whoever keeps their hands on a truck the longest wins it, and they  couldn't think of arranging  the a contest to take place in Time Square to be cosponsored by Ford or GM?!?!? Or if the Time Square Permit was too expensive have it right outside the theater, but I still can't believe they didn't use the show's premise as a gimmick to sell it. On top of that the show did next to no press, nor did it sell Co-Written by Trey Anistasio of Phish.

 

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Also Next to Normal actually had one of the most effective Social Media campaigns of all time for any entertainment property, to the point where it is the only Broaday show to have one an Online Media and Marketing Award for its "Twitter Production" during Tony Season.

Updated On: 9/28/16 at 06:54 PM

[Smaxie]

Posted: 9/29/16 at 7:56am

Where is this Time Square of which you speak?

[thommg]

Posted: 9/29/16 at 10:59am

After sitting through the commercial every morning lately, may I nominate Holiday Inn? It is a commercial that tells you nothing about the show, obscures the faces of the leads and is boring. Is that really all that can be said about the show?

 

[thommg]

Posted: 9/29/16 at 10:59am

After sitting through the commercial every morning lately, may I nominate Holiday Inn? It is a commercial that tells you nothing about the show, obscures the faces of the leads and is boring. Is that really all that can be said about the show?

 

[little_sally]

Posted: 9/29/16 at 12:02pm

I agree with Holiday Inn. The posters and commercials are ugly and tell you nothing about the show. If they're trying to bank on people's familiarity with the movie, they shouldn't, considering a lot of people aren't as familiar with it as producers probably realize.

[Dallas Theatre Fan]

Posted: 9/29/16 at 1:17pm

Does the Roundabout use the same marketing company for all their shows?  She Loves Me and On the 20th Century had better marketing campaigns compared to Holiday Inn.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 9/29/16 at 1:18pm

Not worst, but not best.

http://www.ew.com/article/2016/09/29/grumpy-cat-cats-broadway

[Kad]

Posted: 9/29/16 at 1:24pm

I believe Roundabout has an in-house team.

[Taryn]

Posted: 9/29/16 at 3:18pm

Roundabout has an in-house marketing department but also uses agencies for their advertising.  Generally (but not always) SPOTCo for advertising and Situation Interactive for digital.

[ageorges3]

Posted: 9/29/16 at 10:23pm

An example of awesome marketing (following up from my post earlier in this thread referencing Mormon)!  ALW seems to have shows that are marketed in such a way that the artwork used becomes iconic.  Everyone - from New Yorkers to tourists just in the city for a weekend - can look at that Phantom mask (on ads in subways, in Times Square, in a newspaper) and know it's Phantom of the Opera.  Cats, likewise, has achieved iconic status in terms of marketing - you see those yellow cat eyes on a marquee, on ads around the city, and you know its Cats.  You don't need to be a theater aficionado to have that knowledge - much like the branding in other businesses that's achieved extreme levels of success (Nike check mark, etc), the image of those two cat eyes is so well known, so readily identifiable, that you intuitively know what's being marketed!  That's marketing at it's best - imagery that becomes indelibly associate with the production they're trying to sell tix for.  Felt beyond excited when I walked into the Winter Garden with my Yiayia (Greek for grandma) to see my first Broadway show, passing by this artwork and wondering what theater was all about - and I have no doubt someone walks into the Simon each night, seeing their first Broadway show, feeling the same way.  Marketing at its best.

 

Link:  tn-500_catsmarqwm02100282134.jpg

Updated On: 9/29/16 at 10:23 PM

[Nettik]

Posted: 9/30/16 at 4:16pm

First thing to came to mind was Gloria Steinem's "Hell, No!" commercial for the first run of The Color Purple.

[Mr. Nowack]

Posted: 9/30/16 at 8:17pm

Tha COLOR PURPLE ad...

Reminds me of a 1990's commercial for GasX or something.

[Cfried]

Posted: 9/30/16 at 10:09pm

While it isn't even close to its Broadway opening, I think the GROUNDHOG DAY Bway logo is incredibly bland, boring, and completely uninspired. It looks like anyone could've opened Microsoft Word and created it in a couple of seconds. Hopefully this is only for now, but we'll see in the Spring. You can see it on their website: http://groundhogdaymusical.com/

[trpguyy]

Posted: 9/30/16 at 10:43pm

ageorges3 said: "An example of awesome marketing (following up from my post earlier in this thread referencing Mormon)!  ALW seems to have shows that are marketed in such a way that the artwork used becomes iconic.  Everyone - from New Yorkers to tourists just in the city for a weekend - can look at that Phantom mask (on ads in subways, in Times Square, in a newspaper) and know it's Phantom of the Opera.  Cats, likewise, has achieved iconic status in terms of marketing - you see those yellow cat eyes on a marquee, on ads around the city, and you know its Cats..."

Cameron Mackintosh was visionary in this aspect. 

[Wick3]

Posted: 10/1/16 at 1:21am

TFMH18 said: "Most recently, Bright Star. Did you know that beloved American superstar Steve Martin wrote a musical? Well most of the country did not. Additionally, that entirely bland and vague artwork could not have been less enticing or telling of the show's warmth and tenderness if it tried. Really abysmal work all around."

 

I agree with you. I didn't even know about the musical until it was nominated for a Tony. After I watched the show, I loved it for its simplicity and strong & emotional songs. However, looking back, I don't think there was a scene when she was looking for a bright star (as seen in the logo). I really wished the marketing was done a lot better so it could have stayed in Broadway longer.