wild_target_ver3What compromises or last-minute adjustments have you made while doing your job for some personal reason? Maybe you were having a good day and so decided not to impose a late fee or some other penalty. Or maybe you made the decision to skip doing your job altogether because you realized life was short and hey, you can’t beat an 85-degree day in Chicago when the Cubs have a 3:20 game. Depending on the type of employee you are and how forthright you are about that call will likely impact how your employer reacts to such as decision.

The new movie Wild Target is about someone making just such a compromise. A hit man (Bill Nighy) decides not to actually carry out the contract he’s been handed by an art-loving gangster (Rupert Everett) to kill the woman who conned him (Emily Blunt) in his attempt to buy a famous painting. Instead he winds up saving her and protecting her from other assassination attempts, eventually picking up a young straggler (Rupert Grint) and the three form an unlikely trio as they attempt to stay one step ahead of those who are gunning for them.

The Posters

The poster makes the character the focus, with Blunt up front (well that’s just common sense) looking lovely, Nighy in the middle ground looking armed and Grint in the back looking slightly confused. The copy at the top gives a brief description of each character and it’s pretty clear that these three are going to be bound up together in some sort of misadventure, though what that is isn’t spelled out or even hinted at here. The only clue as to what the audience is being sold is the gun that Nighy is holding, and that’s not much.

I like the bright red block at the bottom, complete with the white cat sitting in the middle of the title for an absolutely unknown reason. The copy below the title is a little on the nose, but I think graphically the differentiation between the photo of the actors and the title/credits at the bottom works.

The Trailers

The trailer starts off by introducing us to Victor in the middle of the act of carrying out a hit and then Rose as she pulls a job of her own, pulling a con on a shady art collector. That puts Rose in Victor’s sites, but he can’t pull the trigger and in fact winds up saving her from another hit man. Escaping that brings Grint’s character into their path and the three have to rely on each other to stay safe as they’re still being sought by the unhappy mobster.

It’s a fast and funny trailer that relies heavily on the charm of Nighy to propel the action and make you care about what happens to the whole lot of them. It’s clear there’s just one insane situation after another and that the three characters really do begin to see each other as a family of sorts, though an extremely dysfunctional one.

Online

The movie’s official website opens with the trailer playing over a variation on the poster’s key art and “Trailer” is the first section of content listed in the menu below.

After that is a “Synopsis,” which gives the audience a decent overview of the plot. There are about 17 stills in the “Gallery” and the “Cast” section gives us the bios of the players in front of the camera.

Finally, the “Press” section has assets including Photos, Clips and the Synopsis that can be downloaded for use in write-ups about the movie.

Advertising and Cross-Promotions

There have been a few banner ads that I’ve come across, mostly on sites geared toward independent film fans, that have used the poster art as the main graphical element.

Media and Publicity

Not much here, either, outside of the release of marketing materials and some casting news coverage.

Overall

It’s not a bad little campaign. The poster and trailer are obviously the most important components and those sell the movie pretty well, showcasing its story and overall sense of humor. Those people in the audience who are fans of British comedies are likely to find this an attractive option at the box-office. It’s nice to see some advertising has been done since that will raise the movie’s profile a bit as well.