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Mel Gibson Faces Marketing Challenges

Marketing a new film is always a tough job, but with Mel Gibson`s new feature, things are even harder. The movie features unknown actors, and speaks an obscure language, but the major marketing setback is going to be Gibson`s latest public behavior. As a result of the famous actor-director`s arrest for drunk driving -followed by some highly anti-Semitic remarks made at the arresting officer- "Apocalypto", the new film directed by Gibson, is going to be hard to sell.

The Walt Disney Company is going to be in charge of marking and distribution of the new film. The current release date is set for December 8, but things are not looking good. The Walt Disney crew started showing unfinished prints to some random audiences in Oklahoma and Texas in order to test initial responses. The basic approach is that if the movie is a good one, people will watch it, regardless of Gibson`s behavior.

The production of the film cost $30 million, and raising back the investment will be imperative. With film marketing, things are never clear and cut, and there`s always gambling involved. It is true that PR-wise the situation could have been better, but promoting a movie film has more to do with the film itself. A bad film that enjoyed a successful marketing campaign will loose viewers eventually, and quality film will gain popularity over time ? regardless of the marketing efforts. The people over at Walt Disney are hoping for things to happen gradually, and that once the quality of the film is known, people will head to movie boxes everywhere.