Movie Marketing Madness: Anomolisa

anomalisa-posterWhen I talk about how some directors have become consumer-facing brands in their own right – something that usually allows them more flexibility to step outside Hollywood’s franchise machine and do original movies – I’m usually talking about the kind of director that has also made franchise or similarly crowd-pleasing movies. Christopher Nolan, Joss Whedon, this is the kind of name I’m referring to. Below that, though, there’s a tier of directors who have as much, if not more, sway with a smaller niche audience that’s more interested in indie movies than the latest blockbuster.

Charlie Kaufman is certainly in that second tier and now he’s back (with co-director Duke Johnson) with Anomolisa. The movie tells the story of Michael (David Thewlis), a normal guy with normal problems who has been sleepwalking through his life for who knows how long. One day on a business trip he runs into someone who changes his perspective on things. Oh, and the entire movie is told via marionettes, with Thewlis and others providing the voices of the characters. So while it sounds like a standard plot and story, there’s the quirky Kaufman touch you were waiting for.

The Posters

The first poster sets the movie up as some kind of soul-searching character drama, albeit one with puppets. So you see the main character wiping away the fog from a mirror and looking at his reflection, something that’s clearly meant to emphasize how this is an exploration of character. At the top of the poster above the title treatment is a blurb praising it as “The most human film of the year,” a comment that’s intentionally in juxtaposition to the animated nature of the movie itself.

The Trailers

The first trailer for the movie certainly sells an interesting experience. We’re asked what it means to be human and alive by the narrator as we see the main character move through his day. The narrator continues by telling us what is special about everyone and telling us to focus on that. The main character continues moving through his life, having dinner, being greeted by his kids and so on.

Like I said, this is obviously a unique experience. It’s not something that’s going to appeal to any sort of mass audience but it looks intrigue and wholly of itself. Lots of critic quotes from early festival screenings play during the trailer and that should do nothing but strengthen the desire of serious movie fans who are swayed by such things.

Online and Social

There’s almost nothing on the movie’s official website other than the trailer. While I’m usually the first one to advocate for some owned web presence, this makes me wonder what the point is. The film’s Facebook and Twitter profiles have more going on as they have links to some of the press the movie’s received, featurettes on the characters and more. And Instagram has a collection of stills and short videos.

Advertising and Cross-Promotions

Nothing I’m aware of or was able to find. There was likely some online advertising done but nothing I saw myself and there wasn’t anything on TV or elsewhere.

Media and Publicity

While people had certainly been talking about the movie – how could they not with Kaufman involved – things really started up when it was picked up for distribution by Paramount and set with a winter release.

The movie racked up a series of nominations at the Independent Spirit Awards, including outside of traditional categories for animated movies. That lead to speculation that it could accomplish a similar feat with the Oscars, which are traditionally much more narrow-minded about these kind of things. (See the traditional shutting out of comedies from Best Picture and most acting areas.) It would also get a nice feature screening with Q&Q at New York’s MoMA.

Co-directors Kaufman and Johnson talked about the challenges of making a movie like this, the nature of art and the themes of the film.

Overall

The formal campaign here is seemingly an afterthought. It’s going through the motions to give the mass audience something to talk about for when the movie goes beyond its initial limited release. But it’s hard to see how this campaign will appeal to people who will more than likely be turned off by a movie that can’t be easily explained and which features marionettes. Instead the real campaign took place in the word of mouth generated by the critics seeing it at festivals and passing on their thoughts and excitement to the niche audience who follow them and put a lot of weight in their recommendations and opinions.

So between those two components – the actual campaign and the word of mouth – you know more or less what to expect, which in this case is a movie that speaks to some aspect of the human condition. Based on what’s here (I’ve done my best to avoid reviews) the movie looks like a challenging story that will not play to the crowd but instead do its best to be raw and uncomfortable and not always likable, but that again speaks to a lot of the human condition.

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By Chris Thilk

Chris Thilk is a freelance writer and content strategist with over 15 years of experience in online strategy and content marketing. He lives in the Chicago suburbs.