Why is it that, during every trailer for an action movie, there has to be a scene of the hero kissing someone? Does this actually increase the likelyhood of someone going to see the movie? I’ve never understood this. Does playing up the romance/possible nudity angle really increase ticket sales?
My guess is that these films are mostly aimed at males and the fact that there is some kind of love story may help females who might not normally be inclined to see a shoot-em-up film to take a chance… and then be bitterly dissapointed.
Yes, in exactly the same way a romantic movie will be advertised with some trailers that attempt to emphasize action and/or comedy. Consider Shakespeare in Love, for example. The ads that ran during, say, “Oprah” were unapologetically romantic, while the ads that ran during “David Letterman” had more of Ben Affleck’s swordfight, Geoffrey Rush mugging, and a brief glimpse of Gwyneth Paltrow being unwrapped from that white sheet thingie.
Current example: The slow romantic drama Captain Corelli’s Mandolin (perhaps not coincidentally from the same director as Shakespeare in Love) has at least one advertisement that’s basically air raids, explosions, and whatnot, in an attempt to make the guys feel good about being dragged to the flick by their girlfriends.
Marketing isn’t about representing the product accurately. It’s about convincing you to consume it. Learn this well, Grasshopper.