At the beginning of October, Paramount Network came back with their “Killer Classics” movie lineup to help get the audience in the mood for the spooky Halloween season. This is a month-long event in which the audience can re-enjoy some of their favorite horror and classic thriller films. Here is a cool TV spot that guides the viewers through the programming lineup.
There are a few things to note. Tim Curry, famous for playing Dr. Frankenfurter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, narrates the TV spot. The lineup includes a series of nostalgic content like The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Addams Family, The Dark Knight, IT, Jurassic Park and Indiana Jones franchises, etc. Each movie is depicted with its iconic characters and imagery. What’s more interesting is that the spot is animated. As a whole, Paramount Network effectively uses two different styles of marketing: nostalgia and animation. These elements added together give the audience a much more sinister feel while also making it very pop.
Tapping into nostalgia has been a widely-used strategy, and research has shown that nostalgia is especially appealing in times of crisis (Brunk, Giesler, & Hartmann, 2018). In uncertain times of COVID, we yearn for familiarity, which explains why we end up knitting, baking bread, listening to Mariah Carey’s old albums, and re-watching classic films. We get to go back in time and relive certain emotions that alleviate negativity surrounding the current situation. There’s more to nostalgic marketing (that was also discussed in my previous blog), but my main focus is on the other aspect of the TV spot, which is animated marketing.
Animated marketing is effective in many ways. Firstly, animation is “simple, informative, and quick to consume” (Kearsey, 2019, para. 4). Paramount’s spot only shows the silhouettes of iconic movie characters and scenes, but it’s enough for the audience to identify each movie and get an idea of the movie lineup. Moreover, Paramount utilizes the unlimited possibilities of animation to the full extent, invigorating each of the scenes with eerie yet captivating visuals and effects. As a result, Paramount has not only exhibited its unique brand personality but has also created a longer-lasting impact on consumers’ minds (Kearsey, 2019).
Most importantly, animation appeals to audiences of all ages (Breadnbeyond, n.d.). Paramount’s “Killer Classics” programming includes films that reflect its demo target, which is “men and women 18-49,” as the network president Kevin Kay has pointed out in the past (Andreeva, 2018, para. 6). But by showing the snips of content in an animated style, the network can reach a broader range of and potentially attract new audiences. Versatile animation reduces a significant amount of gore, disgust, and terror, which are all factors that might make viewers uncomfortable if the spot was to extract actual scenes from the horror films. Even if viewers are still not appealed to watch the program, they may perceive Paramount as creative, fun, and hip. I am not a horror fan, so I wasn’t convinced to watch the horror films, but this spot made me want to watch some of the classic thriller films again (e.g. Indiana Jones franchise) and caught my attention with its appealing visuals.
For those of you who are able to watch the Paramount Network and are horror/thriller fans, here is the line-up for the remaining days of the “Killer Classics” program:
- Sat, 10/31 – The Iconic Tim Curry Trinity featuring Clue (35th anniversary), Stephen King’s It (30th anniversary), & Rocky Horror Picture Show (45th anniversary)
- Sun, 11/1 – Blood-Sucking Sunday featuring the Twilight franchise
Sources:
Andreeva, N. (2018, January 15). Paramount Network bosses talk programming strategy, stay mum on possible Viacom-CBS merger – TCA. Deadline. Retrieved from https://deadline.com/2018/01/paramount-network-programming-strategy-possible-viacom-cbs-merger-keith-cox-kevin-kay-tca-1202243524/
Breadnbeyond. (2020, May 18). Animated marketing: Why businesses should use animation for marketing. Breadnbeyond. Retrieved from https://breadnbeyond.medium.com/animated-marketing-why-businesses-should-use-animation-for-marketing-51185ff1eb8e
Brunk, K. H., Giesler, M., & Hartmann, B. J. (2018). Creating a consumable past: How memory making shapes marketization. Journal of Consumer Research, 44(6), 1325-1342. Retrieved from https://academic.oup.com/jcr/article-abstract/44/6/1325/4159195?redirectedFrom=fulltext
Kearsey, R. (2019, August 5). 5 reasons to use animation in your brand video content. New Breed. Retrieved from https://www.newbreedmarketing.com/blog/use-animation-in-brand-video-content
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