10 Desperate Ways To Market Horror Movies
2. Never Be Afraid To Embrace The Buzz - Snakes On A Plane
Just because a marketing campaign is desperate, doesn't always means its unsuccessful.
Snakes on a Plane marketed itself on its nuts 'does exactly as it says on the tin' premise and very much leaned into the cheesiness of just such a plot. And when the internet went crazy after the first promo material was released for the movie, David R. Ellis' 2006 picture lapped up that reaction and changed course accordingly.
After a couple of would-be fans recorded their own audio trailer that saw a whole bunch of expletives dropped by the person playing Samuel L. Jackson's character, the Snakes on a Plane higher-ups promptly ordered an additional five days of shooting.
While a move like this would usually be seen as a desperate indicator that panic was at play, this time the additional work was done to make the film a full-on R-rated release - which likewise resulted in Jackson being able to say "motherf**king snakes" and "motherf**king plane", motherf**ker.
Snakes on a Plane had become a meme before we knew what memes were, had gone viral before we knew what gone viral meant, and it took home a very solid $63 million at the global box office - and it did so by clinging onto (and reacting to) its early buzz.