The AWFUL Marketing of 'BABYLON'
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- Опубліковано 22 січ 2023
- In this video essay I breakdown what we can learn from ‘Babylon’s’ Terrible Marketing, as it might be the worst movie marketing campaign of all time. I discuss the Babylon trailer, which is at best a confusing tone poem, and the social media posts for the film, which are some of the most clueless and tasteless pieces of content I’ve ever seen.
#Babylon #movie #marketing #MargotRobbie #Bradpitt #badmarketing #trailer #socialmedia #film #oscars
Hollywood still thinks casting a-listers is enough to pull people to theatres
Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie have never been big draws
@@jojotwice8918 what are you smoking?
@@rayaneali7239 😂😂
Like Tarantino and Mackie said, "there's no such thing as movie stars anymore"
This only works in Bollywood
Ugh. That whole social media campaign just has such strong "how do you do, fellow kids?" vibes.
just don't say anything not nice to them.
I totally agree, younger people start using a phrase, then suddenly there's advertising using it to sell their products to youth. I remember it when "Wazzup" was popular where I am, then seeing it on adverts and cringing almost to death. And when "bruh" got popular there was an insurance ad with guys saying "bruh" to each other
They were making memes from the movie as though everyone already knew and loved the film and would get the reference.
@@MrJeffcoley1 No one got a single reference because no one cared to watch it even after seeing the trailer that trailer gave me impression that it would be a money grab nothing meaningful about it and I was right those who watched it said it was a waste of time. The trailer to once upon a time was brilliantly crafted while this one was horrible.
IF I have to bet, this was made with AI
Another complication is that Margot Robbie also starred in "Amsterdam" which debuted (and bombed) just two months earlier. There were a fair number of similarities between the two of them: both were set in the same era with elaborate period costuming, and both had star-studded casts and a high-profile director. People who weren't paying close attention might have confused the two when they saw the marketing campaigns.
Saw Amsterdam on Disney+ and thought it was Babylon for ages so yeah this was me lol
I kept getting the two movies confused with each other1
I wonder why Robbie chose to work on both projects. It seems like she’s established enough to turn some things down.
I did! I saw the trailer a few times too and never understood the trailer. Amsterdam looked very boring, predictable and unfunny. Confused why she’s taking these boring ass roles.
That would complicate things, although I did enjoy Amsterdam (even with the slow start to the story). I do think A was marketed better.
I saw the trailer and in my mind the line "It's a movie about Hollywood. The academy LOVES movies about Hollywood" immediately played in my head.
what's that line from?
Yes they do!
@@yeahsuredude7082 some actress said it on a podcast iirc. Forget who.
Same
this video did a better job marketing the movie than the whole marketing team did
Quite so. Now I wanna stream it out of curiosity, when i was a bout to give it a pass
@@Cancoillotteman I LOVED THIS MOVIE
Fr I didn't wanna watch it until now
the markeing shows them as actors being actors at a time when we people do not like actors.
Lowkey looking up movie times now
I am so glad SOMEONE pointed out the absurdity of not putting the titles “La La Land” or “Whiplash” anywhere in the trailer. Thought I was the only one who thought of that glaring omission. I’ve seen La La Land and I don’t know who Damien Chazelle is. Literally slap in “from the man who brought you Whiplash and La La Land” and you’re golden on that front at least.
I do not know how they omitted that?!
I think that using Rotten Tomatoes as a way to portray the movie's quality was really disingenuous and kinda lame. Because on other websites like IMBD and Filmaffinity the movie is rated way higher, around 7.5 and 8/10.
And it is an amazing movie. But the fact that the dude only used Rotten Tomatoes makes me think he did in bad faith, just to hammer the idea of the bad marketing campaign, as if the audience's appreciation the movie is somehow a reflection of the marketing campaign and not the quality of the movie.
I love Damien Chazelles work and I didn't even know he was behind this!
It would be like marketing Inception as "From Christopher Nolan" rather than "From the director of The Dark Knight" when he didn't have the reputation he does today.
What if it was a deliberate choice from Damien Chazelle, who wanted for the movie to stand on its own ?
I know EXACTLY what happened, they thought 'what does gen z like? they like tiktok' so they went to a marketing agency and said 'we want tiktoks and make them go viral' (and it doesn't work like that) 😂
You 100% nailed, I'd bet all my $$$ that is exactly what happened. Sad, b/c I loved the movie. Literally never heard of it, it just popped up on Paramount + and I gave it a shot.
I didn’t see this movie advertised on TikTok at all.
"The movie was actually...not that bad!" - I wholeheartedly agree. It's not the masterpiece some people say it is, it has several flaws (being overly long is just one of them), but it's not a bad movie - it definitely has its moments.
I agree with your agreement!
What bothers me a lot is how Brad Pitt is marketed as the leading actor of the film but then he's actually a supporting character in the actual movie.
That’s bc his PR team is trying to give him as much press as possible to cover his abuse mess
I haven’t seen this movie but my theory on these highly marketed movies with big stars (often with ensemble casts but not always), is that they are made to funnel lots of money to big stars for easy performances, probably as a favor for those stars doing projects they don’t like. Margot Robbie didn’t want to do Amsterdam? Pay her $8 mil for 6 weeks of work on Babylon. Brad Pitt doesn’t want to do the next blockbuster for Warner Bros? Give him $10 mil for 3 weeks of work on Babylon.
The studio is probably more invested in those other movies succeeding than they might be in Babylon, and they expect Babylon to flop, but they market the movie nonstop to simply recoup the money they’ve put into it, and even if they don’t recoup their money on Babylon, they may expect to recoup their money on the projects they actually want these stars acting in.
That happens a lot and it probably won’t change anytime soon
@@zachsdickDOTmpgthat's a pretty good theory, but like won't the actors still not wanna do Babylon either? Why can't they just pay the actors more on the projects they want those actors on?
@@gianna.luddington7958 his what?
I can see this film gaining recognition years later
Definitely. There are already some very intense fans of it.
i personally didn’t have high hopes of it being good after seeing the reviews but i was actually very pleasantly surprised! I mean i can definitely see that it has some shortcomings but it was still an amazing experience
I don't think it's THAT good. It's good but not that good.
Lol
@@therealpatrickbateman5000 you’re half the box office
I have NOT heard of this movie. You just marketed your video very well
He also marketed the movie very well though it doesn’t matter I guess no one’s going to watch it
I heard about it but then forgot. I had to google it when I saw this video. Back when I first saw the trailer I remember thinking it would flop. Noboody is interested in the 1920's anymore. And the trailer was confusing.
Same here. It certainly puts it ahead of their marketing.
I don’t see how. I saw ads for this movie all over UA-cam and constantly saw commercials on tv. My guess is you don’t have cable or dish anymore.
@@btgkg9639 You are correct. I'm online & using discs for my media.
If the marketing dept. was worth the money they spent on them, their social media and online presences would have gone viral and we all would have at least had an opinion on going to see the movie. Instead, they apparently had those derivative and dull things that I first saw in this video.
I went to this movie on the military base I’m on because it was free. I knew it was over 3 hours and had the mindset that if it didn’t keep my attention, I was leaving. Not only did I stay the whole time, but I would’ve seen this again. Absolutely killer cinema. I am a sloot for movie trailers that keep large portions of the movie mysterious. I appreciate what this movie tried to do with the marketing because the trailers legit only shows the first 20 minutes of the movie and that’s about it. But for a movie that has a 3+ hour runtime and for what the movie was, they needed to entice people to come see it a little bit more then what they did. This movie isn’t a 10 Cloverfield Lane where they literally don’t show Jackshiz in the trailer and people are intrigued by the unknown.I’ll be 100% honest though, people are so particular about what they will see these days. I don’t know if this movie could’ve marketed itself in anyway that would’ve changed its outcome.
You're a soldier?
@@anyaaa2801 sailor actually but yeah
@@anyaaa2801 Quick tip, if you're asking someone if they served in the military, ask: "were you in the military?" or "did you serve?"
"Soldiers" are US Army and only US Army. The Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard don't have soldiers and will mentally make fun of you, even if they're outwardly polite.
I had a similar experience! I turned it on, thinking I would skip through a bit to watch Margot Robbie cry on cue, but I couldn't look away. I was surprised that I really enjoyed it!
I also wish they said what Damien directed. Most people don’t know Damien Chazelle’s name, unless you’re into movies, but most people have heard of La La Land and/or Whiplash. He hasn’t reached the Spielberg level of only referring to his name. Even for big names like Sam Mendes, they referenced him as the director of Skyfall in the 1917 trailers.
Good point. That could have made a difference.
Yup
Spielbergs movie also flopped names don’t even matter anymore and it’s sad
@@LUCCI_25 I didn’t really hear about Spielberg’s latest film until it was nominated for a bunch of awards, so marketing failed that film. I guess they assumed since it’s a Spielberg film everybody will know about it and show up, which didn’t happen.
In the UK they definitely did mention those things when they marketed it, and I've been seeing posters and ads everywhere (including out of home stuff, so it's not just that Google and UA-cam know I'm a film fan and a Chazelle fan)
I still had no idea what the film was about until I looked it up though
Wow, I had no idea that people felt the same way. I quite literally said to myself "I cannot tell what this movie is about" and it seems like I wasn't the only one
"What's the movie about?"
"It has Margot Robbie in it."
"What's it about?"
"Check out these horns! Look, they're having a party!"
"K, so, what's it about?"
"There's gonna be sex in it."
"..."
Honestly, if they're gonna try to rely on Star power to attract viewers, you'd think they'd get some internet celebrities that are more relevant.
To be honest, I'd be hard pressed to tell you, and I've seen the actual movie.
@@richardhollis3783 OMG 😭
I mean if you think about it, this movie does not have an active plot with proactive characters who further the story. It's a succession of different events that happened to them throughout time, so in that regard is very difficult to encapsulate the premise in a trailer. They are passive characters, so you are left witnessing the madness u fold before you, but you are not necessarily following anybody's journey. I love this movie, it has a lot of soul and heart poured into it, which is refreshing nowadays, but it did not have that clear, driven plot of Whiplash and La la land. You knew the characters' goals and desires and saw them go through an actual arc.
Mina Le did a really good video on here about the costume design, where she pointed out that none of the hair, makeup or costumes actually looked typical for the period, on Chazelle's request, and honestly to look at the poster I would've assumed it was set in the 70s?
To me this was one of the biggest flaws. As a watcher of the movie or trailer, I can't create a world. Every time I see 1928 on the screen I'm expecting to see things from that period. But so many things take me out of that period bc they aren't historically accurate. This is okay for minor aspects but not for the main character.
i actually loved babylon. i think it was beautifully done. it really deserved better marketing bc this is very realistic to what happened to actors in the 20s.
Idk man this movie kind of made me realise how obsessed Hollywood is with itself, and now I see that obsession almost everywhere in the media and it just feels really weird and out of touch.
I would love to hear more of your thoughts on this!! Like how so/what other things have u seen that show this
@@panmoncada7257 empire of Light, bablyon, bardo a false chronicle, fablemens, ansterdam(sort of) were all love letters to (mostly old)Hollywood or filmmaking---probably with the start of the pandemic a lot of these directors looked inwards for inspiration while the world was shut down or maybe thought this will be their last Film based on the worlds circumstances
I think that was the point. At least it made you think. And that’s memorable.
Yeah, felt the same way, but JUST about the premise. I never really care about movies about Hollywood. They’re such a bore for me - except the disaster artist ofc lol
i mean, chazelle didn't have a lot of kind things to say in this movie about Hollywood either. he basically said "i love making movies, i love art and magic of cinema, but i hate the industry and everyone here is fucked up, we just pretend like we didn't sell our soul, and i question if it was even worth it."
To be fair, even Steven Spielberg's name no longer sells in today's movie era.
Interestingly, James Cameron’s still does 😳
I don't even know who Spielberg's modern audience is honestly
I think people are starting to realise a name is just a name
@@raydromeda3777 except when it’s Jordan Peele…
That's just how it is. Gen z and alpha haven't necessarily grown up with certain names like Millennials and Gen X did. The same way Millennials and Gen X might not have cared about directors from the 40s-60s.
I'm sure as time goes on, this movie will become fondly remembered. Many movies that have become part of our pop culture consciousness weren't always marketed and received the best upon initial release. But hey, anything is possible!
Walked into the cinema a couple weeks ago with a friend. We weren’t sure what we wanted to see but we were like, “wasn’t there some movie out with Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie”? Come to find out, it wasn’t playing anymore and I hadn’t realized it was even in theaters the whole time, lol. And that’s coming from someone who loves movies. I would have gone to see it if it had been on my radar.
I go to the movies weekly and saw this trailer before every single movie I saw for about 9 months. It was annoying and really turned me off to the movie. It was overly advertised.
I'm not on social media so I didn't see how awful the marketing was, but this movie is being promoted like crazy in the UK. In London rn u can't go 100 metres without seeing a poster or Billboard for it. I'm also surprised the promotion didn't focus as much on Lady Fey Zhu and Sidney Palmer, since they were the most compelling characters for me, or even really showcase Manny at all (when he's literally the main character?). I understand that Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie have the big name power to get people in cinemas, but it's ultimately Manny's story.
Agreed
Yup, it's huge in London. Really cool ad on the side of the buses
same with australia - billboards everywhere
Same here in Manchester
I visited Paris and it was the same there
Ur right, I came out the movie having loved it and thought it was so sad that the the only way they decided to market it was paint it as a giant party with orgies and drugs. It was so much more than that, very emotional love letter to cinema and I can’t believe they completely ignored the whole Singing in the Rain element since the film is literally based off of it. Maybe he wanted to keep that bit hidden which would be fair enough but when u see a video about a giant party you definitely don’t think about Singing in the rain.
Yup! Missed opportunity for sure
One reviewer, Brad Jones, described the movies as if "Singing in the Rain" was directed by the same guy as "Caligula", and that's why he loved it.
I cant believe that’s what this movie is about. I thought it was some bold indie darling when it could have just as easily been lumped together with the Oscar Bait?
that was one of the reasons I didn't go see it, because I get triggered with heavy focuses on coke specifically, only to find out it's only in one major scene lmaoo
Honestly, the debauchery isn’t even what sticks out the most. Of course, it does stick out, but the characters, the story and the cinematography left more of an impact than the wild party scenes.
I agree. I found its trailer by accident and the only thing that stuck was "Hollywood be crazy, orgies, maybe Margot has a twin but I'm not sure". I literally don't know what I'd watch here, what's the drama... and I didn't know it was out until this very moment. Lol.
I actually really enjoyed this movie despite minimal exposure to its marketing. All i knew about it was it was about filmmaking.
Reaching the end of the movie it pretty much felt like it was inspired by Tarantino’s once upon a time in hollywood. The opening had me by surprise and i was thinking “this is as if Tarantino did his take on Kubrick’s Eyes wide shut.”
I actually havent seen any other movie by this director, but watching it it felt like La La land. And i havent even seen Lala land. Goes to show the energy put into this film. It was a great journey.
"I actually havent seen any other movie by this director, but watching it it felt like La La land. And i havent even seen Lala land" made me lose a few brain cells
@@vertabun427 i havent seen the movie itself but ive seen alot of content on it on youtube. Alot of it being cinematography of la la land.
go watch lalaland and whiplash, they are both a lot of fun and really good movies believe me.
Completely agree. I love this movie, and the talent involved was enough to get me into the theater, but that’s not the case for mainstream audiences. They literally didn’t even hint that the movie was about the transformation of Hollywood from silent to sound films, and audiences didn’t get invested. Reminds me of Blade Runner 2049, another great film whose marketing didn’t explain what the film was about and bombed as a result. It’s really a shame because this was such a unique and great film.
Agreed. I personally had my own problems with the story but I think it deserved to be seen by many.
BR:2049 was boring though. And too long.
@@CATDHD That was a film that looked great and had a perfect rhythm. Not like this mess.
@@CATDHD BladeRunner 2049 was a great film. It explored themes of humanity and despair in a Pinocchio-like way while still managing to be unique and connect back to the original film. It also had exceptionally written dialog.
@@ssssssstssssssss any dystopic setting with a fucking good retirement program ruins the cyberpunk movie. That's a major sin of the movie - too self-serious, without good worldbuilding. Another one I attribute to Denis Villeneuve - his obsession with long shots that are mesmerizing, but overshadows the tempo of the story, which is flawed without good cruel editing, with needless characters like Leto's. Take his arc out and just mention the gist in a dialogue and you won't lose anything.
Tonally, the movie is great. Thats one of Villeneuve's strong sides.
Had the movie been 30-40 minutes shorter, just like Ridley Scott wanted, it would have been much better digested.
Compare BR:2049 with a similar movie that deals with trauma - You were never really here. Villneuve should really learn to be ruthless in the editing room, or just hire Margaret Sixel.
I miss the old school trailers with the gravely voice-over guy. They kept it simple. The trailer gave you the basic gist of the plot and tone. There was no ambiguity. You knew right away if the movie would be your cup of tea.
“Arnold Schwarzenegger. Sylvester Stallone. Down in The Abyss. Coming to a theater near you!”
I will never miss voice-over guy, or "in a world" guy, as we used to call him
but its nice to have vagueness so u can enter the story without anticipating the outcome
So you miss bad trailers with a lazy voice-over saying uncreative things? Ok.
no the voiceovers were TERRIBLE
Finally saw this movie on Prime this week, but I saw maybe like 2 ads in total while it was in theaters. The film was nothing special or deep, but it was incredibly fun, highly stylized in it's visual language and editing, and the cast was great.The film feels a bit bloated and it's long, so casual viewers might be winded from a watch. But you nailed it, it meanders JUST like a Tarantino film but the catch is that the characters are fun to watch - that's the hook and why I sat down and watched the entirety of Babylon. There are weak moments and parts that felt a bit too tired, but overall, IMO, it was a solid watch and worth my time.
Being a december release and only limited in few theatres, having to compete with Avatar, if they released this movie in november worldwide, maybe this would have been a lot bigger than what it became.
Exactly, release it in October/November. Show a trailer about the roaring 20's and the introduction of sound. Make it a nostalgic period piece that needs to be seen on the big screen.
The fact that I've seen made ads about this movie, and I just learned from this video that it is said in the 1920s and not any 1970s coke induced haze like I thought it was still shocks me.
Every time there was a shot of some nineteen-twenties old-timey camera or car I had to re-explain to myself and everything I thought about this movie was wrong.
It's margots hair and makeup, I don't want to watch the movie based on the trailer because I will spend the entire time being mad about costuming
@@bedtimeat8 okay i went to go watch the movie and I’ll say this, I thought the exact same thing it pissed me off BAD how much she looks like she’s from a different decade, however this is one of those movies were you can tell the director purposely did stuff like that as a “stylistic choice” to “make a statement” becasue, there is a lot of….not necessarily “inaccurate” things that happen, more so, unlikely, but chazelle I think does this as a choice to make a point about the movie industry or sum shit idk
but yeah i agree her wardrobe could’ve been better, since her character is supposed to be this crazy drug fueled wild child, and there were a lot of girls like that in the 20’s but they didn’t look a hot mess, at least not in the way she did
*set
I love this movie and I think you hit the nail on the head. While I loved the unrated trailer, I got the feeling that Paramount relied on UA-cam to sell it, and that was not the target audience at all. I went opening night and was shocked by how much I loved it. I’ve seen it twice since and am looking to go back once more before the end of Thursday when essentially the last of my local theatres will be removing the movie. This is a movie that stays with you long after it ends, and the Oscar nominated score is easily the best of the year.
No doubt it wins for best original score
@@ComeWatchTV and for Production design
The score was beautiful no doubt but it felt too similar to LaLaLa Land, which might have been the point now that I think about it lol. Still wish it had an original score to set it apart .
Margot Robbie sucks
@@ComeWatchTV It *would* deserve this!
The sequence around Brad Pitt's character making the historical film is absolutely brilliant, esp the closing scene with the gorgeously lit sunset kiss.
Just one of so many fantastic sequences that have an almost hallucinatory power.
Yeah, the pacing of that whole sequence was great. I hear a lot of negative reception around the movie, but personally I loved it, it was entertaining, and I enjoyed the ending.
great video!! I honestly loved this movie and it's a shame it didn't get as much recognition as it deserved.
The marketing for don’t worry darling was press drama and scandal 😂
Yeah, it didn't exactly hurt the whole Stepford Wives, Florence Pugh is the only normal one, angle.
And the movie was absolute shit.
Love this movie and I wish the marketing was a lot better so there’d be more people for me to talk about it with 😭
Who was that trailer for ? Gives no clues to what it is whatsoever. 😬
I liked it a lot too. I only heard about it from a friend who is a big movie buff!
I am so curious what y’all liked about it? My bf and I watched it, and while there were some scenes/parts that we both enjoyed, we felt like those were ruined by the overwhelming number of scenes that were repetitive and didn’t add anything to the characters/story, the lack of direction, as well as the lack of a meaningful story arc/conclusion/character development for most of the characters. by the time we finished, we were both just feeling very frustrated 😅
@@AnnDemeerme and my boyfriend saw it when it was first out, and we came out the cinema and was like that was good! Then we walked to the car and it was like well…except for this part, and this, and that. I love a film where not much happens, but I genuinely feel like there was no cohesive story, like it felt like a clip show of ‘impressive shots’ just stuck together
@@AnnDemeer I really enjoyed the scenes of them filming all those movies at the same time in the desert, while racing the sun. I also think its interesting that Brad Pitt played a movie "star" becoming irrelevant when he might be one of the last movie stars on earth. I think the concept of movie star in general isn't relevant anymore with how much media there is to consume. Def didn't need to be 3 hrs lol
I remember some of the Ads I got for this movie because they were so odd. Some were skippable non-sensical trailers that made me 0% interested but one was a 15 second unskippable ad where a random "influencer" type told me about how Babylon is "like, this massive party" which made me actively hate the film without seeing it
Yes. Not only was it tasteless-it was irritating! Agreed
This happens a lot. 'Odd Thomas' suffered a tragic fate due to the marketing company stealing the funds instead of promoting the excellent movie.
What didn't sell the movie for me (still haven't seen it, I admit) is that it felt like "another Hollywood love letter to Hollywood" and I'm honestly tired of this current trend.
I saw it and I would definitely recommend it because it speaks to the good and bad of Hollywood. It doesn't so much focus on the glamour of Hollywood but the sheer chaos, racism, desperation, and confusion that propelled the medium. Many period piece films that focus on this decade or the 50's and 60's all possess the quality of idealizing a society where many people suffered and only one propel. This movie for me completely dispel's that notion. It does showcase the transition into "talkies" and the excitement that follows suit but it shows the realities of living in the early 20th century.
It's literally the opposite of a love letter to Hollywood. It is a love letter to cinema but not hollywood
@@arthurloub5752 I'm tired of the "love letter to cinema" trend too.
@@redlightmax Seriously, is there any creative medium that is more obsessed with itself than film? Are there anywhere near as many songs about songwriting, novels about writing novels (okay I realize that takes out 90% of Stephen King's output but bear with me) or comics about making comics as there are movies about making movies? Some degree of reflection on the medium from people who love it and dedicate their lives to it is inevitable, and it has on occasion led to great work provided that the reflection on the medium and industry in-jokes aren't the sole thrust of the work. "Misery" for instance isn't just as meditation on the writing process and the contentious relationship popular creators have with their fanbases (Annie Wilkes being the ultimate case of a parasocial relationship gone haywire long before that term entered the popular lexicon) but a genuinely tight thriller that still has the power to make people wince. "All That Jazz" isn't just Broadway legend Bob Fosse all but telling all, but him trying to get to the bottom of why he was the workaholic trainwreck that he was while also being a genuinely great musical with outstanding singing and choreography almost becoming a Broadway answer to Fellini's "8½" by the end. So many "love letters to to cinema" are nothing but love letters to cinema, with nothing to offer to any audience other than film industry workers who want to revel in how good they used to have it before UA-cam and premium TV ate their lunch. I love cinema too, but I love it for the potential it has to tell great stories, and using it to tell stories about how great movies used to be of how great it used to be to go to the movies instead of using it to make movies that are actually great and great to go to is wasting that medium. None of the great filmmakers attained that status by making movies about how great movies used to be.
It was a mediocre film, the type of movie film bros would like, or feel like they _have_ to like.
I couldn't even tell that it was set in the 20s/30, nor that it was about the movie business or famous people. If anything, my assumption was that it was about people who do too many party drugs reaching their 30s/40s and realising everyone else moved on in life 😂
Here in Australia it received 0 marketing until the last 2 weeks, and even then all they did was push HARD that it had Margot Robbie in it.
Bugs me too because the transition to talkie movies is a time period I love but the movie could have been set nowadays and be the same
It does? The movie spans like 15 years
@grosvnermcaffrey9862 the movies whol point is the 15 year transitions in movie throughout that wra
I seen a few ads for it and they were all "whoa check out this movie everyone's talking about"
No one was talking about it
Yep! Sometimes being vague works. Take a look at the first trailer for "Barbarian:" we know a woman discovers that the AirBnB she's reserved already has someone else occupying it, we know there's a hidden passageway where scary shit happens...but that's it. Yet it works because it actually sets up the premise and the characters while still keeping audiences in the dark about what's exactly down there in that secret passageway.
With "Babylon," I had to basically guess the premise on my own based on what little bits the trailer showed. I thought, "Is this like a Hollywood version of Great Gatsby?" I still haven't seen the film, so I don't even know if my hypothesis is correct!
Good analysis. I think one angle for the trailer could have also been Diego Calva’s American dream hopeful storyline with Margot and Brad as crazy supporting characters.
Omg!That’s brilliant idea! Even if I watch the movie from this angle and concentrated on Manny, his feelings and story it will be much more sense and deeper feeling. And all the promotions are almost about Nelly
I saw both Avatar and Babylon the same day. Avatar had a packed theatre and Babylon had maybe 5 people watching it, but I liked Babylon more.
There was no one but my three friends in babylon when I went
I physically cringe when I see these corporations doing tiktok ads with the generic tiktok text box and the AI voiceovers, you can just tell the people who came up with them are basically senior citizens.
Babylon was clearly a success here in France, but we seem to be the only country to have been hyped by it… it’s so sad because it was actually a hell of a movie, frankly one of my best cinema experiences. If you haven’t seen it yet and somehow there is still a way you can see it in a theatre, go as soon as possible. It’s a movie that absolutely needs to be seen in theatre, and it’s truly a masterpiece !
What do you mean by not really ?
If the marketing team shared your enthusiasm it may have been a hit.
I wouldn't be surprised if someone stuffed up the contracts and gave too big a share of the US box office to someone so they did their best to tank it. Then they go and try to make some money in Europe and from Netflix.
I can see the french really liking this movie
i think people will notice it more and more over time it was a pretty good movie, when I went to see it there were 2 other people in the theater with me its just a lot of people had no idea this movie existed
pretty meh to me.
The first time I heard about this film even existing was when I stumbled across an Instagram posting saying that it flopped so hard
haha
Me too. I was waiting for the next Chazelle's film, but I only heard the movie by looking up the post saying Babylon loss so much. Still I went to the cinema to watch this great film, my personal favorite.
The movie might have been mismanaged in the marketing department, but Chazzele definitely should have cut like a good 40 minutes of the movie, cause some scenes led to nowhere and were repeating the same point.
Agreed, the film aged me a bit
I think the scenes in which characters explain points which are already being shown by the narrative (Spolier: Brad Pitt suddenly going on a rant about how movies are not a lesser art to his theater actress wife after his best friend dies), could have been cut
didnt mind the length but certainly didnt need to be 3 hours long
like the one tobey maguire sex dungeon scene, what the fuck was that. That actually threw the whole entire movie off the rails for no reason, or that stupid snake scene, i rather watch a youtube apology video compilation than that sequence
@@bartoletondiaz6920 i wanna watch the movie but then im scared of seeing stuff like that lol
Thanks for shining some insight into this! I remember being excited then completely counted it out after seeing the trailer 😂
You stuck the landing. Chef's kiss.
(I am talking about the ending of this video, in case it was accidentally not obvious.)
This video makes me actually interested in watching the movie. I saw the trailer twice as a UA-cam ad and it’s just like you said, I didn’t feel like watching “Margot Robbie goes CRAZY in this CRAZY party in old Hollywood!!” When the trailers for Amsterdam, another period piece starting Margot Robbie, were so much more intriguing
You should see it. I’m pretty mixed on it, some things I loved, some things I hated, but I know some people really like it
I thought I was hallucinating when I kept seeing those horrible tik tok ads on instagram from the verified babylon account. I was always thinking all these things about Babylon’s marketing I’m so glad someone made a vid that illustrates the point so well
Hey, great video. I’ve watched your other videos and the quality and insight is all top notch. That this one blew up I think it shows that negative commentary is usually the most popular (by the way, nothing wrong with negative criticism), but hey, once you’ve got a platform, you’ll be able to reach more people with the positive stuff too. Good luck to you man!
Thank you! I agree with your theory about negative commentary videos. I like making positive videos more anyways, so I’m cool with them not blowing up
I'm not really on TikTok so didn't see any marketing for this, but even from what you showed I did NOT get that it was a period piece at all and was actually shocked when you said that it was about the transition from silent films to talkies - I didn't get that at all!
I saw Babylon at the movie theatre. The movie is one long circus act with the exception of a few scenes. So don't blame the trailers. It is a one long boring spectacle. Babylon actually closed our big cineplex in NYC. And to think, that the film "Megan" which is movie about a scary doll made 124 million in its first two weeks. So Brad Pitt was punked at the box office by a doll!!
I think you still have to make it seem like more than it is if you are making a trailer. Even if it is a lot of nothing, with how much they probably shot for the movie it would be pretty easy to make a better trailer even with a somewhat manufactured story
I'm not surprised because who wants to watch a film about silent movies? Sounds boring as hell
@@theponsway ignorant child
@@theponsway the whole film industry switching from silent to talking movies is a pivotal event in art history, nothing about it is boring.
@@theponsway I think the filmmakers realized the potential validity of this perspective and, rather than give the film a more crisp plot, they decided to sex it up beyond all recognition
The teaser that I saw in cinemas was basically just pictures of the main stars with their names, then the word "Babylon".
My aunt wants to take me to see this. The reason I know about this movie is because I saw it while scrolling through the AMC app.
If the marketing team wanted to appeal to Gen Z's love of nostalgia they should've collaborated with vintage clothing and historical fashion UA-camrs, Tik Tokers, and Instagram influencers. They could've asked these content creators to make costumes inspired by the old Hollywood aesthetic. 😊
That definitely wouldn’t have gone viral tho.
I only found out about the film because I saw it mentioned in Damian Chizelle's filmography when I was logging his films on my Letterboxd as I'm a fan of both Whiplash and La La Land and it didn't end up even releasing until near the end of January in New Zealand, I went to see it with my brother and best friend and I'm pretty sure there were only one one or two other people in the theatre and we all agreed it was good but went on way longer than it needed. I think this will go down as the black sheep of Chizelle's filmography
I think the length kind of made sense near the end, but there were so many scenes that could’ve been taken out. Toby McGuire did a good job in his cameo but that scene was sooooo unnecessary
I like Babylon. There's so much to appreciate and this is probably one of the last times we see a production as large/ practical heavy as this. They don't give directors/production these kinds of budgets
😂 I haven’t seen it because the trailer really did make it look like a giant orgy. I had to read IMDb to learn the plot. Sometimes less is more. I think trailers need to invite people into the story…this one just yelled out typical weekend in an big city haha
I agree. It just seemed to advertise "woo wacky decadance so funnnnn" and I just don't care lol
Yep. It wasn't bad marketing, it's clearly just a bad movie and the big selling point was parties and orgies and Hollywood decadence. No one cares. Not interested. Margot Robbie dancing around in skimpy attire, who cares. Make a good movie. Hollywood making movies about Hollywood is usually self indulgent crap.
I projectile vomited in the theater when i watched this movie about 30 minutes in maybe. i still feel bad for the guy that had to clean it because it was a bucket worth of vomit
To be honest, this made me want to watch the movie more than the trailers.
Honestly going into this film not knowing anything was the best thing I could have done. Still, this film deserves far better!
I knew nothing when I sit in the cinema and in the first minute an Elephant shit in my face. :) True enough in the first hour hour there were beautiful cinema moments I almost cried it was so good but it got ruined for me completely. Just too long, too pointless, and too many discusting scenes. A good trailer can get you a good opening weekend but word of mouth is still the most important I think, and I can tell you I recomment to all my friends to stay away from this one.
i saw it with my mom and i wasn’t a huge fan of it… i saw a few commercials and my mom loves brad pitt and i love margot robbie, it just felt really really long. i enjoyed the end, it just felt prolonged. i do feel like i’m coming off as someone who ‘just doesn’t get it’ and maybe i dont, but im majoring in film and really enjoy talking about good movies. i don’t mind a 3-hour run time if it’s a movie i’m really into, but it just felt like i wasn’t pulled into the world at all. (the beginning sequence (and underground scene) were subsequently terrible to watch with one’s mother, but that wasn’t a main gripe of mine as I assumed it would’ve been different alone).
I didn’t love the beginning, like at all, but I really, really, really, enjoyed the end. there were also quite a few beautiful scenes and while the ‘gross’ parts really made me uncomfortable, im aware that’s the point of it.
I remember seeing ads for this last summer _all the damn time_ on UA-cam via my TV’s app. It was the one that started with them snorting the paramount stars from the logo as if they were coke.
I grew to despise it seeing it so often, the loud snorting sound began to disgust me. The whole concept movie, *as presented in the trailer,* started to disgust me. I’m no square, but the whole “omg so much drugs and alcohol! Such decadence!!” thing is rather immature and not something I’d want to watch a seemingly entire movie about. I got pretty good at hitting skip before the snorting sound.
They were banking on Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie bringing the audience.
The only press I saw were reviews saying it was too much and unfocused and maximal-but-shallow. So there was nothing to counter that. So now I'm a hard pass. And it sounds like I'm not alone.
I was just imagining what you said about the behind-the-scenes footage. I imagine how fucking crazy the "behind the scenes" would be during the "behind-the-scenes" part with all that shit going on in the desert studio section. That is super meta and crazy to boot.
I heard nothing of this movie until the first teaser. Watched it and thought ‘huh I’ll watch that,’ then promptly forgot about the movie entirely. Never saw anything else pop up. I think it really got lost promotion wise especially with Avatar coming out.
Never herd of it here in Portugal. Watched it ocasionally 2 weeks ago. And it's amazing! Really energetic and doesn't feel like a bubble gum. I'm really enjoing when people are shown as they are like in real life. Someone is abusing drugs while being amazing on screen and talanted as a person, the others are peeing their pants when they are scared, and others are simply psycopaths.
I've been mixing it with Amsterdam, both Margot Robbie and all star cast, similar colour scheme, both set in the past and I just had the same vibes from the trailers.
Did anyone else get confused between this movie and "Amsterdam"? They both were released around the same time, and I think I was convinced the trailers were for the same movie because of Margot Robbie and the time periods.
I feel it's not doing great in Finland because of this. Marketing has been lacklustre.
Yup
I remember seeing trailers for the movie and I had zero clue what the hell the movie was about, I was too confused to have any interest. I actually just watched the movie and it was an amazingly great film! I didn't even feel the 3 hours. After seeing it I wish I saw it in theaters
The trailers use a technique that has become frustratingly common in videos of all kinds in recent years: Pictures flash by quicker than you can take them in. Maddening.
Babylon is such a different movie... it shows how movies are a part of our history and some people don't understand its importance until years later... I loved the movie IT IS HEARTBREAKING (I don't care if it didn't market, I don't care it didn't make money its a beautiful movie for those how love the movies and watching them)
disagree about the snake fight sequence sucking but I definitely agree that it shouldn’t have been a main part of the marketing and your take on the marketing as a whole
appreciate it
Snake scene was hilarious 😂
I liked the snake scene too
I was laughing so hard, I liked the scene too.
I believe this film, as this YT channel, is very underrated. First off, this was a very legit analysis actually, decent editing, idk why you don’t have more subs, I’m guessing you started recently. Secondly, this film was a genuine ode to cinema and the social media marketing (which I just discovered now) is one of the dumbest posts I’ve seen recently.
Appreciate it!
Man, I feel for chazelle. I genuinely believed the reviews and the marketing were accurate and didn't actually see the movie until over a year after it came out because I had friends tell me it was actually really good
He’s gonna be alright
I think their strategy was not to sell this but make it iconic
I think now you can tell how a movie is gonna do based on the amount of views the trailer gets. For example the trailer for Brad Pitt's Bullet Train got 34 million views and went on to make over 230 million. Then the trailer for Babylon only got about 4 million views, and has made 42 million at the box office currently. Marketing is everything
I saw the ad for the movie as a preview in the theatres multiple times and i could never tell what the movie was actually about.
The trailers confused me because I didn’t know what I was looking at
I am so glad that UA-cam recommended me this channel! I hope you gain traction - you and your content deserve it!
Thank you!!!
I was one of the people that got all the stupid social media ads. They were god awful. As gen z, I thought it was all horribly cringe and out of touch. My very first ad for the movie was simple a little trailer that seemed interesting enough and the movie seemed like the kind of thing I'd normally watch, but then getting the horrible meme ads made me turn around and not want to watch it at all. Seeing this video and reading other peoples comments, I'm now thinking about giving it a chance. You all are doing a better job making me want to see this movie than the actual $80 million marketing ploy.
What a great inside look at how to market a movie. You should do a throwback marketing examination on the movie Ishtar and how you can ruin turnout by overmarketing a movie.
I agree. I loved the movie but didn't even know about it till a year after it came out.
when you said "transition into talkies" I was so shocked! I thought that this would've been set during another time period considering what the trailers had shown. I had my head set on this blockbuster style story that would've been analogus of the story of babylon in the bible, like a creative take that puts the story in this setting to demonstrait the excesses of the ancient city and ect. (Yes i am saying i was looking for some old bibical fun, but in a jesus christ superstar type of way i guess.).
this is exactly the impression i got, too!
I thought it might be the 60s-70s (a period I generally dislike), had no idea it was the 1920s.
Crazy to see that despite all this, the movie still had at least some Oscar buzz. Arguably, if it wasn't for this awful marketing, it could have gotten a Best Picture nomination, after all.
It wasn't that good. it's getting Oscar buzz because it is undeniably great from a technical standpoint.
disagree. It‘s one of the few movies in nearly 10 years that made me laugh out loud, cry, be lowkey scared and clap at the end. Fuck the marketing. This movie is absolutely stunning, not only from a technical standpoint, but also story wise. In fact, it was the first time in my life I actually noticed a feedback from the audience in the theatre.
Hard to believe that the TOP GUN sequel was more deserving of a nomination for Best Picture!
@@ComeWatchTV Art is subjective. I think it was easily deserving, and a top five film for the year. (I'd also have given Chazelle a second Oscar...)
Would it have gotten the nomination with better marketing? Hard to say. It had mixed reviews and is clearly a love it or hate it film. The Academy does tend to reward passion though, so if enough voters loved it it maybe would've had a shot. Granted, a Tomato score that low is... well, it's lower than Joker.
@@Blaqjaqshellaq Why is that hard to believe? People generally loved the movie and they called it even better than the original, it was also adored by the critics. Even those people who don't watch these kind of movies flocked to the theatres to watch it, it was like an euphoria. Maybe, the movie is not your thing but considering the fact that it didn't got nominated for best actor or best director, one thing no one can deny that it certainly deserved Best Picture nomination.
It seems to me as if the execs from Paramount Studios wanted all the money they'd previously earned from Top Gun: Maverick to get flushed down a toilet. 😞
i just remember i would always get this one ad for it before youtube videos that didn’t explain the plot at all. i saw truly nothing else about it anywhere. it was just that short clip of margot robbie’s character drunk i think and i’m a big fan but it just didn’t really seem that appealing
I'm just so tired of hollywood celebrating itself
And I guess i wasn't the only one
Yeah, I watched the trailer and thought “rich people partying? I’ve seen that enough.”
The movie isn't really about that tho, there's some really good scenes critizing the Hollywood system
That's a very limited perspective of what the movie is.
@@saratheweird4171 That wasn't in the trailer though, and that was part of the problem. I also am sick of these kinds of movies, and even being a Chazelle fan I thought the trailer looked god awful and the negative reviews further deterred me. I thought it was another Hollywood celebrates Hollywood thing with big parties.
@@crepperwlp that’s the majority of the movie, the rest is people trying to get/hold on to relevancy
I did hear about the movie well ahead of time because there was a lot of hype and buzz about the director of La La Land making a movie about old Hollywood. Then I saw the trailer and... nothing about it impressed me. I was still open to watching it until I A) found out it was over 3 hours long and B) heard that there was defecation and vomiting front and center on screen more than once. I did not need to see all that and certainly not for three hours. If they ever released a 2ish hour version on streaming I might be intrigued.
That was a clean outro dawg 🥶
‘Preciate it!
I saw it in theaters bc I’m a film fanatic, and an AMC A-Lister. But my brother, who LOVES La La Land and Whiplash, didn’t even know this film had come out until I came home and talked about it. Not only did they wrongly advertise the film, it didn’t get out to a wider audience. Not even average movie-goers, like my brother.
I've been waiting for this movie since its announcement. I thought that only cinema lovers would get their ass to theaters, especially after seeing its flop in its domestic box office. I was quite worried but also excited by the project.
However, the movie came out approx. 10 days ago in France and it's really doing great for a 3 hours long ambitious movie about Hollywood in the 1920s and the "fall" of silent cinema. It is currently 2nd at the box office (after Avatar oc).
To compare, in France 700k people saw La La Land within the first week upon its release; and for Babylon, it's 500k. Considering that Babylon is less "mainstream" and not targeted for family audiences, I can say it's a good start which shows the french audiences enthusiasm for the movie.
The critics are mainly positive, it's not as polarized as in the US.
Perhaps its release in mid-january, after christmas and new year's eve, is a good thing ?
PS : I love it and I will watch it again very soon, hopefully.
This film flopping + Brad Pitt's abusive history shifting his public persona whilst his Hollywood peers praise him was certainly interesting from an ironic standpoint.
The “me when I drink” Pitt trailers were definitely a poor choice, given the discussions on his history. That was what turned me off the film the most, it wouldn’t have been much to pull that strand of marketing and it wouldn’t have felt so tone deaf
What did he do?
@@immanuelcunt7296 It’s alleged he drunkenly attacked Angelina Jolie and their children
@@immanuelcunt7296 court documents came out recently about his extensive abuse toward Angelina Jolie. they got into a very heated argument during a plane ride where she kept asking him to stop drinking (I believe in especially in front of their children) and he started getting physically aggressive with her. one of her kids had to get between him to defend their mom, Angelina, and brad hit them on the face. he was drunk during the fight too. but this was known years ago, she wrote an article about it right after they started legal proceedings for their divorce.
@@mus7c is this alleged or proven?
I did see ads, but I couldn't tell when it was set or what it was about. When I learned it was meant to be the 20s I lost what little interest I had because it looks nothing like that. The party setting and extras sort of gives me 20s, but the guys generally give me 30s-40s, and Margot Robbie's styling gives me like.... 80s? Very distracting. That, plus no indication of the plot from the trailer, or particular interest in any actors or the director (I know the name Damien Chazelle but couldn't place it without the contextual mention of La La Land and Whiplash) left nothing to hold my interest.
I remember it being a huge thing on the internet when Toby Maguire was cast in this film and I got really hyped to see it, then I never heard about it again until it was mentioned briefly on the Oscars and I had no idea the film was even out yet
I absolutely loved this movie! Something about it just clicked for me and I had a great experience with it. I was surprised it was received so poorly and barely got any recognition. It's a real shame the marketing sucked.
telling everyone that loved it to check Kenneth Anger's Hollywood Babylon. Seriously Anger needs credit for the Chazelle's movie. XD
The trailer for Once Upon a Time... was good, but the main reason it performed well at the box office was because of positive word of mouth and marketing it as “the 9th film by Quentin Tarantino”. Damian Chazelle simply isn’t a name that carries weight with casual filmgoers, so they should have put “from the director of La La Land” front and center on every poster and trailer.
8:32 that sequence alone is an example itself about how you make audiences want to engage with a film. they should pay you, or I should. thank you so much for the video
Lol- this video is copyrighted by paramount. They’re taking what I could have earned on this away from me for giving them free promotion. I appreciate that though!
I knew about the movie, I knew it was nominated for Oscars, but i didn't know how poorly marketed it was, or what it was about. I had the feeling it was kind of about some rising stars and a already famous star, but i mainly heard it was about was about the decadence and fall of the old Hollywood system of the 1920s. Thing is, when you've seen one "rise and fall of decadence" movie, you've seen them all. It just didn't draw me in.