Website –
http://www.starwars.com/the-force-awakens/
Trailer –
http://www.starwars.com/the-force-awakens/trailers/
At the start of the trailer, a sandtrooper is seen with blue goggles on, and uses a rope to climb down a huge abandoned ship. The scene then switches showing Daisy Ridley as Rey holding her special weapon with a droid that looks very similar to the likes of R2-D2. The camera shows scenery of Tatooin with a spaceship shooting off; as the trailer remains focused on Rey as she sit’s down looking like she’s thinking. The Trailer then shows the Lucasfilm logo as the trailer kicks in, and then show’s a moving clip of Stormtroopers, and then goes on to show one of the other main characters in the film, which is John Boyega as Finn dressed as a Stormtrooper taking off his helmet as if he was dressed up as a disguise, and then show’s a ship, which has been hit that Rey’s in, and lands on the planet Tatooin.
The trailer than show’s Rey on the planet tatooin, and he looks shocked, and confused. The camera then switches to the new sith lord of the new star wars film Kylo Ren looking out the window of his spaceship, and then close-shot of his face is then filmed. The camera sets focus on darth Vader’s face helmet, which was burnt along with him, and his costume after the battle with his son Luke Skywalker.
The trailer then switches focus onto Kylo Ren again, looking like he’s suffocating Poe Dameron, and then shows the millennium falcon flying away from a little ship, which is chasing them down. Han solo then appears in the trailer, chatting to Rey & Finn. The Millennium Falcon is then seen going light-year speed. The trailer than goes onto show several different scenes, including a lot of the cast, and even goes on to show Chewbacca, and Princess Leia for the first time in the trailer, and several different battleships. The trailer than show’s the official title for this film, and the release date etc.
Poster –
The poster includes the main characters from Star Wars: The force Awakens such as Kylo Ren, Rey, Han Solo, Finn, Chewbacca, Princess Leia, and The Stormtroopers. I think this poster is really effective, because it looks like a typical Star Wars poster, which succeeds the expectations of a Poster.
Magazine Articles –
On one of the official magazine previews of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. It goes on to talk about whether or not Luke Skywalker would be a villain this time, as he has been hidden through out spoilers, and trailers. He hasn’t even been seen on any posters or heard of throughout the film, which has got people mysterious about this conspiracy. This conspiracy includes the new star wars villain Kylo Ren, as his face is not yet been revealed.
Other articles have included release dates in different countries. One of these countries being China which have just been handed a release date for Star Wars: The force Awakens in their country. The release date with China is January 29th 2016, which is pretty late, compared to the UK, and US.
Press Junkets/Interviews with stars –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXcWCECBuRg
This interview stars the actor Harrison Ford who plays his role as Han Solo in the Star Wars franchise, and goes onto talk about the movie, and the excitement it will bring for all Star Wars fans out there. He mentions the cast, the director, and all the experience he’s had with Star Wars, and everything that’s been happening.
Merchandising and Sponsorship –
Quite a lot of merchandise and sponsorship of Star Wars: The force Awakens has been released, and leaked all over the Internet. Merchandise has also been released in shops such as Argos, Asda, Sainsbury’s, and are even making the official game of the film, which would hit game stores such as Game. Since the official deal they signed with Disney, Lucasfilm has had several different sponsorships with different companies such as collaborating with Duracell, Subway, Covergirl, Max Factor, and several more. This is very effective for the film as it advertises the film very efficiently.
Target Audience –
The target audience of Star Wars: The force Awakens would be age ranged from 12-30, as people who round into these ages would be mostly interested in the film, as people aged round these ages have grown up knowing the Star Wars franchise through the prequels, and even the actual sequels which were released in the 70’s-80’s. People which involve in these age ranges, would mostly be interested in watching the new film which is released in the franchise. As the film has an age rating of 12A, this doesn’t necessarily mean that the film wouldn’t interest kids under the age of 12. The main gender which would be interested in this film is known to be males, and the main economic grouping focuses more on teenagers, and people in their 20’s.
The secondary audience would involve a much older audience which would probably age range from 35-50, as people in these age ranges grew up watching the original sequels, and will want to watch the new film in the franchise, as it carries on from the sequels. The film also includes original star wars names such as Han Solo, Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker, Chewbacca, and also involves new faces like Finn, and Ray, which could possibly be the daughter of Luke Skywalker as she can use the force. The socio economic grouping would involve A, and B, and the main gender would involve males, but some females would also be interested to watch the film.
The additional audience would involve people who are fans of the actors, or any other perks which come with the film. The socio grouping for this would be c2, and B, but mainly involves anyone.
Representation –
The representation of Star Wars literally means how genders, and ethnicities have been represented on the film, and Star Wars has played a big part in this as it has represented both Men, and Women strongly, as it gives both genders, and even a mixture of different ethnicities big parts in the film. Rey which is known to be a female is one of the main characters in the film, whereas Fin who also is one of the main characters in the film is Black British, so the film doesn’t stereotype anyone.
Campaign Message –
The campaign message of Star Wars was to basically bring the film back to life, as the film hadn’t had an official film for 10 years, as the last Star Wars film that was released which was Star Wars Revenge Of The Sith Episode: III. Star Wars had kind of died off, and it was decided that Star Wars needed another new film, and trilogy to keep the franchise running.
Audio-Visual Advertisements used –
Their were many advertisements used for Star Wars: The Force Awakens. As big as Star Wars is, and how the franchise attracts many people, the makers of Star Wars had to make many advertisements.
This is an example of a poster which has been displayed on the streets, so everyone can see. These kind of advertisements were displayed all over the country.
Regulatory bodies –
The BBFC are an organisation which awards certificates to films from the UK, and have classed Star Wars: The Force Awakens as a 12A film. Depending on how the film is, and what happens in the film, the film has to be given a specific rating, and if there is too much violence in the film, then the film would definitely be unsuitable for people under the age of 12. The BBFC, OFCOM, and ASA need to specifically make sure that trailers, and other products are specifically checked to see if they’re appropriate, and are shown correctly to the audience. The ASA make sure there’s no problems with posters, and billboards. They will check to see if they’re suitable enough to be shown, and if they aren’t then they will do anything to block the advertisement from being shown. OFCOM makes sure that the actual film is suitable enough to be aired, and Star Wars: The Force Awakens has worked with Regulatory bodies for advertisements to be shown. The BBFC focuses more on the rating with other media forms which make sure they meet the requirements. They have to make sure the trailer doesn’t show footage from the film which show’s it’s a 12A film, and puts all the appropriate footage in the film shown which anyone can see.
Legal and Ethical –
Advertisements, and trailers are nothing like the actual film, but show snippets of the film, which would appropriate to any viewer watching the film, even kids younger than the age of 12. Trailers can be shown anytime of the day, and draws the attention of every Star Wars fan. Legal issues in advertisements could be quite bad for the reputation, and there aren’t any certain laws. There could be parts where they upset viewers, and this could be bad for advertisements. Ethical issues could link to the trailer or poster showing racial abuse, and offensive remarks to a similar group of people. Star Wars: The Force Awakens doesn’t include any racial remarks or offensive remarks to anyone
How elements of the campaign are linked? –
Star Wars is known to be one of the biggest film’s from the last century, and this is one of the reasons why Star Wars has a logo which stands out a lot, and literally everyone knows the film. Every advertisement, poster, or trailer will use the logo, and even has it’s own day on May 4th which has its own catchphrase “May the 4th be with you”. As actors from the original trilogy are returning to the latest film, this would attract a lot of fans who used to watch the original trilogy, so it would be a huge ask to advertise these characters such as Han Solo, Chewbacca, Princess Leia, and Luke Skywalker.
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