Snakes On A Plane - Viral Marketing At Its Best

Every so often a movie will come along that istitle be restored.
destined for greatness -- be it through powerfulAnd therein lies the magic. With nothing more than
imagery, an engaging plot or a stellar cast.a working title and a vague plot summary this
Occasionally, though, just occasionally, comes amovie became an Internet phenomenon --
movie whose success is based not on cast orgenerating a slew of fan blogs, videos, songs,
plot (whose plot, in fact, is purely incidental to itsparodies and praise before even a single frame of
popularity) but on simple viral marketing. Snakesthe movie has been seen. In the viral marketing
on a Plane is such a movie.style of The Blair Witch Project, the success of
For those of you who have yet to come acrossthis low budget horror project is based more on
this particular title, Snakes on a Plane is an R-ratedmyth than fact: the Internet (and, more
action/horror vehicle starring Samuel L Jackson.specifically, the blogosphere) built hype, anticipation
The plot, as we have come to expect fromand excitement with greater success than any
action movies, is basic and untaxing. Jackson's FBIexpensive marketing could possibly achieve.
agent is escorting a witness on a flight fromUnderstandably, New Line Cinema took this
Hawaii to California to testify in a high-profile courtsurprising good fortune and ran with it, acceding
case. Meanwhile, an assassin smuggles a crateto the demands of an eager public. They even
filled with over 500 snakes onto the flight. Terrorwent so far as to reshoot several scenes to raise
ensues. Simple.the movie rating from a PG-13 to an R - including
Now, in the greatest traditions of Hollywood athe addition of a line of dialog fans demanded
movie such as Snakes on a Plane should probablyfollowing the release of a fake audio trailer: "I
have vanished with little comment somewhere inwant these motherf***ing snakes off the
the middle of the usual pile of mindless latemotherf***ing plane!" They essentially remade the
summer action flicks. Perhaps it would have donemovie to cater to the enormous, anonymous
well in the rental market, but it had little hope ofaudience who made it famous.
becoming a blockbuster in theaters.With all the hype surrounding Snakes on a Plane
However, this particular movie has one specialNew Line is onto a clear winner. Since the movie
quality -- a quality that saw it elevated fromhas become, sight unseen, a massive cult hit it
obscurity and gave it a vast fan following asdoesn't matter in the slightest whether the movie
much as a year before its release. This movie,is actually any good. In fact, it would probably
you see, had a title that simply demandedtake more at the box office if it were
comment - a working title so ridiculous that itresoundingly, jaw-droppingly awful. The viral
begged parody and satire.aspects of the Internet spreading news of its
And that's just what it was - a working title.dreadfulness would only serve to drive more fans
Studios usually give their productions a basicto the ticket booths, all ready and more than
descriptive title before the marketers come upwilling to take part in this full-length in-joke.
with something better. ET: The Extraterrestrial,And that's the point, you see. That's the reason
for example, was titled variously A Boy's Life, ETSnakes on a Plane has become so well loved --
and Me and Night Skies before assuming thewe don't expect it to be serious. We don't expect
name we know and love. The working title ofit to be enlightening, intelligent or valuable. We just
Snakes on a Plane was, in fact, changed to theexpect to see snakes. On a plane.
more generic Pacific Air Flight 121 before JacksonAt the end of the day, what else is there to say?
and droves of Internet fans insisted the original