Another article from the Guardian mentions how War of the Worlds may indicate a shift in Hollywood’s usual marketing techniques. It has had little advanced work, little plugging and pushing and no advanced screening for reviewers, things that are almost unheard of for a film this big.
The reason that’s stated is simple: word of mouth. Hollywood can’t control it and as the most powerful form of advertising, it can undo all the money they spend on advertising in an instant. It’s been made worse by the web, and blogs in particular. You can now get more opinions from more people (who aren’t biased or swayed by the studios), faster and easier than ever before.
Something else that has been noted is that cinema attendances are dropping and more people prefer to stay in and watch a DVD than head to their local movie house. (Having said that the New York Times has a piece on how cinema advertising revenues have actually increased 20% this year) So, have we seen the end of the big sell? I doubt it.
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