To paraphrase George Orwell, however, “Some PR campaigns are more equal than others.”
Granted – each network has their own choices to make and how they disseminate their product. Some choices have been thought provoking and effective. Some choices have been controversial but integral to garner buzz. And then, some were just a tad underwhelming.
So let’s start with the controversial choice:
That is, they plastered Nazi and Imperial Japan insignia all over the New York City Subway’s seats, forcing passengers to pick a side.
Photo courtesy: www.dailymail.co.uk |
New Yorkers were unamused.
In the end, it was an approach, albeit controversial, that implied the story.
Japanese on the left, Germany on the right and neutral zone in the middle. All altered to fit an American approach.
Everything you need to know about the show was right there. Right in front of you.
Photo courtesy: HBO |
But here’s what’s most important about this poster – it tells you everything you need to know about the next season in one image. It implies mystery, sadness, tone, hope, narrative force, resolution, danger, intrigue, catharsis, validation, fanboy culture, all in a single frame. Not to mention, it’s gorgeous.
Fans understand the context, and non fans can tell that something is afoot.
As a collective – we see an implied story.
When this hit the presses – it exploded. But as much as it implies – it actually shows nothing. It’s just a picture.
This is how it started – and by the gods was it great:
Here’s your first #PeekAtParis, and there’s more where this came from. Look out for more shots each week. #Outlander pic.twitter.com/EMpd6iH5z3
— Outlander (@Outlander_Starz) October 21, 2015
Dinner at Chez Fraser.
Since the beginning of the week, photos, albeit beautiful ones, of various culinary delights have been tweeted by Starz leading up to Thanksgiving. A plate of figs. A lamb chop/meat pie/cranberry concoction. A dinner plate . . . or rather, half a dinner plate, an overturned spoon and a knife.
Outlander fans on Twitter, after having been pumped up by the tease of a #PeekAtParis, were a bit let down. Is it understandable to be let down? For the rabid fan? Yes. For the casual fan? Perhaps.
Photo courtesy: Outlander Starz |
Photo courtesy: Outlander Starz |
Anything else? It’s not too much! Don’t worry about giving us too much if it means you’re going to give us a dinner tableau, instead.
Photo courtesy: Outlander Starz |
What they DO need to worry about is making sure they get all those subscribers back that they lost by the time April comes knocking. In other words – is pumping Twitter full of food porn (again, beautiful food porn) the way to go?
What does it imply about the story?
Sadly – not a lot.
We see obscured versions of Claire and Jamie with a bunch of people we DON’T know in a setting that is detailed yet oddly distant. Does that imply we are just as foreign in France as Jamie and Claire? I think an argument can made for that.
But again, the idea about a teaser is to tell us about the story to come – not what we’ll be having for dinner or what a distinctly foreign environment would feel like. They need to show us what the story will be (at least on a tertiary level.)
To Starz’ credit, they may simply feel they don’t have any new tricks up their sleeves because, unlike Game of Thrones, we actually HAVE read the source material already. But that’s just the thing . . . not all of their viewers have read the books. Also in their back pocket, Ron D. Moore’s admission that season two strays further from the book than season one. So, yes . . . there are things, other than place settings, that they can tease us with.
What would’ve been great? Major casting news! A release date! An outtake! I’ve seen gifs from season 2; they have them on Tumblr.
Why is this stuff being “leaked” and not released ON Starz? Behind the scenes footage (we know they’ve got a ton in the can, already) interviews with the cast and crew? Anything to reward viewers who are STILL their viewers, which will, in turn, entice former and new viewers into subscriber status.
Fans would flip their wigs over something like that!
I don’t have a marketing degree, so I’m not going to pretend I can solve Starz’ dilemma. But they have people on their payroll who do and who’s job it should be to effectively engage fans.
It’s easy to infer that they have been working really hard to get us something. Anything.
A third option to consider is that #PeekAtParis was just a gift to all of the loyal viewers of Outlander. They tied these photos in nicely with the idea of Thanksgiving and it was a cute play. They give us a “taste” of the opulence and splendor of Paris.
But was #PeekAt Paris the right choice?
Probably not.
There is nothing uniquely French (to the common person like me) about these photos. This could have just as easily been taken in England, Italy, Spain, or high class American Colonies.
And even though it may have been a gift for Outlander fans, we have to inevitably take this a little bit further down the rabbit hole. These are the first photos the world is seeing from season 2 of Outlander.
Yes, this is our first look at season 2. It’s not just the rabid fans who are seeing these – it’s the entire television community. SO, were these photos a good “First Look”?
Not at all.
It tells us nothing about what’s to come other than Jamie and Claire will be at a nice dinner into an obtusely referenced Parisian dining room. They had to tell us it was #PeekAtParis for us to understand it was actually Paris.
Why tell us when you are supposed to SHOW us?
Yes, most anything Outlander related will impress current fans because they know what they’re looking at. They, (and myself) are happy to get anything. We’ve been waiting for so long. But, these dinner photos don’t engage new viewers. They don’t coax old viewers back who decided to call it quits after season one B.
There’s no story here.
There’s nothing to entice people about how exquisite and beautifully layered our show is and/or where it’s going in season 2.
We need something “other”, and as only Starz and the creative team know what they are holding back, they are the ones who need to figure out what that “thing” is. Perhaps there is a large timeline of events and releases that we don’t know about yet. Maybe they are still working on post production on images and film so they can’t get us a perfectly treated tidbit of the show yet. I totally understand all of that.
But, it’s been a long time since June and “winter is coming”.
What were your expectations of ‘A Peek at Paris’? How can Starz meet them in the future weeks without giving too much away?
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