Die Hard - The Jackal

Die Hard – Die Harder

Bruce Willis meets the Jackal.

The remake of the movie, “The Jackal” featured Bruce Willis as the Jackal.

As a fan of the original “Day of The Jackal” movie and a reader of many books about Carlos the Jackal I was excited to watch this movie. I still enjoy watching this movie.

I believe that this movie showcases Bruce Willis as his best as an actor. I never thought of Bruce Willis as a great actor however he shines in this movie. Most of the time, he plays the cold hearted mercenary killer. That is mixed with his masquerades as the fat Canadian saying “eh” and the cute American gay. That was interesting to watch Bruce kiss another man on the mouth. Certainly not die hard material. But of course Bruce was considered a gay sort of name for awhile. That was why the original TV series on the Hulk used David as the Hulk’s alter ego and not Bruce his real name.

So what’s my point?

You can recycle good themes. What sold once will sell again. It might need some repackaging. If fact we are witnessing a lot of repackaging lately and very little novelty. Of course if it was done 30 years ago and your audience hasn’t seen it – it is novel to them.

Hollywood does this very well. Look at the TV shows from decades ago that became new movies – Beverly Hill Billies, Addams Family, Superman, Lost in Space, The Fugitive, Star Trek, The Twilight Zone, Mission Impossible…

I know there are more but my memory deceives me.

If you want “new” marketing ideas dial back 30, 50 or 200 years and see what you come up with. Don’t be afraid to resurrect old themes to leverage your marketing. A theme from 30 years ago has both nostalgia and novelty.

I wonder when they will come with an Ed Sullivan movie.


George Torok

Marketing Specialist

ET phone home

The movie, E.T. (1982) is an old Steven Spielberg movie. But there are some wonderful messages that we can learn from it. If you haven’t seen it – watch it. If you haven’t seen it recently – watch it again.

The first lesson might be that we should not be afraid of something or someone just because they are different from us.

The second lesson is that every once in a while something comes along that completely changes our perspective. Remember when the world changed from flat to round (most of us were not born yet)? Remember when the earth was no longer the center of the universe? Remember when the Soviet Union was the evil empire? Remember how the Internet changed the world? Things change.

The third lesson is: be clear and simple in your message. ET said, “ET phone home.”
Wow! That is a simple and clear message.

The last message is hope. Remember the scene near the end of the movie with the boys riding their bicycles and they started to fly? How did you feel watching that scene? I felt joy and hope.

There are some powerful messages for marketers in that movie.

Watch the movie.

George Torok
http://www.powermarketing.ca/

Batman Begins - Powerful Lessons for Marketers

Batman Begins - a powerful movie. Why?
Powerful lessons for marketers and communicators.

Watch the movie with a stopwatch and a notepad.

Notice that the camera shots are from two to a maximum of seven seconds long. Seven seconds is the longest shot. Most of the shots are around three seconds. And many of the seven second shots are zooming in or out.

What does that mean to you? That seven seconds might be all you have to hold your listener's attention. Go ahead see how much you can say in seven seconds. If it is all in the same "shot" you might have lost your listener.

How long did it take you to read this post? Yeah - start thinking seven second shots for your message.

George Torok
http://www.powermarketing.ca/