black_mass_ver3We do love our bad guys, don’t we? Pop culture is littered with them right now as TV shows, movies, books and comics all focus on the villains, often to tell their origin stories or in some way present them as characters that, if not sympathetic are at least relatable. There’s something about the current climate that seemingly makes us want to understand what makes these bad actors tick and find out what made them what they are and why they are doing what they’re doing, even if we find what they’re doing reprehensible on some level.

Into this mix comes Black Mass, telling the true story of noted Boston mafioso Whitey Bulger, played in the movie by Johnny Depp. Bulger not only was a feared leader within the underworld but also informed on the mob to the FBI, mostly for the purpose of taking down rivals in his territory. So a government agency – including an agent who was Bulger’s own brother – looked past his own criminal activity under the guise of it being worth the trade off to arrest others. You can see why this story is so intriguing; It has politics, the mob, family drama and more.

The Posters

black_mass_ver2The first teaser poster sets a good tone for the campaign. It simply shows Depp as Bulger with gun drawn at his side looking down at a body that’s lying on the ground, the implication being that he shot whoever it is that’s now dead. We get a good look at Depp’s portrayal of Bulger from a physical perspective, all coiled energy under the leather jacket and a menacing look in his face, something that’s accentuated by the receding, slicked back hair that he sports. The full cast list appears at the top, showing a solid lineup of great actors and just above the title treatment we get a reminder that this is based on a book of the same name. Finally, just below the title, there’s a tagline that also serves nicely as a plot synopsis:

The unholy alliance between the FBI and Whitey Bulger, one of the most notorious gangsters in U.S. history.

A second poster features the same supporting elements – the same copy, cast list and so on – but squares up Depp so he’s staring – glaring, really – right at the camera. He’s just as imposing here since he looks like he’s coming for whoever is on the other side of the camera. Both of these posters very much sell the movie as the Johnny Depp show, which is the main point, though this one at least gives the audience a look at the supporting cast, who appear in a single red strip in the middle of the one-sheet.

There were also a series of character banners created, each one drenched in red. There’s not much to these since they appear to be meant as nods to the other characters in the movie, though there’s not character description of who each actor is playing. Again, these feature the same tagline and other copy as the other posters.

The Trailers

The first look we got at the movie was just a scene showing Bulger and others at a dinner, with Bulger asking about someone’s secret family recipe, which he uses as an illustration of how people need to keep secrets, especially his secrets. There are other shots from the movie interspersed throughout the clip, but this core element is meant to show off Depp’s performance as a very menacing bad guy, which it does very effectively, especially with the uneasy laugh at the very end. This was a great way to build anticipation for the movie.

[https://youtu.be/WDVrTfFgzPk]

The second trailer opens with Bulger at a family dinner, teaching his son a lesson, a scene that’s intercut with shots of him embarking on various sorts of violence. We go on to see the FBI and others doing likewise as well as showing an encounter with an older woman that shows how respected and loved he was in the neighborhood. Despite the movie’s 1970’s setting this is all shown while modern-day rap (I don’t know what song this is or who it’s by) plays, the better to connect with today’s audiences, I suppose.

[https://youtu.be/YJWJeBJnT6M]

The final “main” trailer puts more of an emphasis on the supporting cast, framing the story in the context of the FBI investigation into Bulger. So we see more of the family and political ties that both helped Bulger on his rise to power and would ultimately bring him down. It’s clear here Bulger is playing both sides of the game even while he does, as he says, whatever he wants. And this one shows how everyone is in too deep to get out with their skin intact.

[https://youtu.be/R_F-lVhSfx8]

What I find striking is that each one of these trailers is pretty unique. Each one has its own tone and style and even has minimal repetitive footage. So this really is an example of an evolving campaign, not in the sense that the message changed, but each one built off of the previous one to bring something new to the campaign. While I think the last one is the most effective because it sets the expectation of this being an ensemble drama, that doesn’t mean there’s anything really wrong with the first two.

Online and Social

black mass picThe movie’s official website wisely, in my opinion, focuses on showing visitors the real story of Bulger and his operations in the context of the movie.

First there are the traditional marketing-centric sections. “Videos” has all three trailers, the “Gallery” has a number of stills from the movie and “Story” contains a decent synopsis.

But from there it gets more interesting. At the center of the page is a “James Whitey Bulger” section that, when opened, offers you the Depp-centric character banner as well as a few GIFs of him as Bulger and a couple audio clips. That pattern is repeated – though usually without the GIFs – in sections called “FBI Organized Crime Strike Force,” “Winter Hill Gang” and “The Bulger Family.” Some of these character spotlights also feature a clip or other video with that character. Finally there’s “Boston,” which takes you into the real locations that play central roles in the movie, as they did in Bulger’s actual operations.

Moving off-domain, the movie’s Facebook page has a nice collection of official marketing material in the form of trailers, TV spots, posters and more as well as red-carpet photos, links to select press stories and more. I particularly like the big, FB-friendly images that were produced that show off the movie. These are really well done and don’t try to be to cute, they’re just solid images, including some character cards, that are ripe for sharing. It’s also clear here that Warner Bros. was given access to Facebook’s experimentation with allowing brand pages to upload native GIFs since there are a number of those here. The Google+ page is basically a mirror of Facebook, which isn’t surprising.

The Twitter profile includes a lot of the same kind of updates along with more live photos from red carpets and other events, just as it should. Obviously there aren’t the kind of galleries you can do on Facebook, but it makes up for it by Retweeting the cast and various promotional partners.

The movie didn’t have its own Instagram profile – not a bad thing, in fact it’s very smart – but did hitch a ride on the @WBPictures profile where it was a big part of the mix for the last several weeks.

Advertising and Cross-Promotions

There were at least four TV spots created, many of which replicated scenes already seen in the trailers. Some focused more on Bulger, others on the supporting cast and the political games being played by everyone involved. But they all struck a very similar tone to what had already been seen, just condensed for the format needed here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLjMZxJRh6I

The movie also received a bit of paid promotional boost on Facebook and Twitter and Warner Bros. sought to expand the reach of their social media efforts.

There weren’t any promotional partners that I know of, which isn’t surprising since a 1970’s true-life Boston crime drama doesn’t exactly scream “…and buy this diet soda too!”

Media and Publicity

black mass pic 2Just before the movie opened there were stories like this one (Hollywood Reporter, 9/4/15) that said this was a return to form for Depp, one that could make him an awards contender like he was a year ago, before he went through a rough period filled with questionable choices. But that same story said the movie itself had less Depp dominance than the campaign would make it seem, that it was actually Edgerton’s story that is primarily followed. So there’s the chance that while Depp may actually have gotten his fastball back that audiences will feel like they were subjected to a bait-and-switch kind of campaign. Of course it was inevitable backlash to that narrative (Variety, 9/7/15), basically saying Depp never went anywhere, the movies he’s been in just didn’t rise to the level of his performances in them, which is a point of view that admittadly has some merit.

The movie had its awards potential burnished a bit after a successful debut on the early festival circuit (Variety, 9/6/15), where it earned praise for the performance of Depp and the rest of the cast.

Overall

This campaign works really well and that’s largely because of the consistent tone that permeates the whole thing. If you look at the two main posters you’ll see a style that harkens back to the gritty, street-level dramas of the 1970s that’s consistent through the trailers, the website and everything else, even the images that were created for and shared on social channels.

It’s notable how the campaign shifts about halfway through from being almost solely focued on Depp to expanding to highlight much of the ensemble cast as well. That may be in-line with one of the narratives that emerged when early reviews started breaking that the film was as much about the people/characters played by Joel Edgerton, Benedict Cumberbatch and others as it is about Depp’s performance as Bulger. If I had to guess I’d say this will wind up being fairly representative of the movie itself, without a lot of surprises in the film that couldn’t be reasonably expected after reviewing the campaign.

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