Movie Marketing Madness: Dinner for Schmucks

There’s an old saying that if you look around the room and can’t figure out who the dumbest person at the party is, it’s you. Which is why I try to avoid parties.

What’s the worst thing you’ve done to get a job or secure the promotion you’ve been anxious for? Did you not loop a co-worker into an email conversation so he or she would look out of touch? Did you spread a rumor that so-and-so was cheating on his wife that made their way to your family-values boss? Did you fudge a little bit on your resume and cross your fingers that no one would ever ask you to speak Mandarin Chinese?

The new movie Dinner for Schmucks posits the question just what would you do to succeed at work? In this case what’s asked of the character played by Paul Rudd is that he has to participate in the humiliation of strangers. Specifically, as he’s being considered for a move up the corporate ladder, his boss (Bruce Greenwood) informs him that the final hurdle is to find some sort of eccentric character and bring him to a dinner party he hosts where he and other executives are able to mock these seeming losers. To that end he one day bumps into an IRS agent with no discernible social skills and a startling lack of self-awareness (Steve Carell) who is perfect for this dinner. But Rudd’s character can’t quite get over the ethical qualms he has with the whole situation but continues with the plan because gosh-darnit he wants that job.

It must be noted, of course, that this is the reunion of Brian Fontana and Brick Tamland, which automatically makes it worth checking out.

The Posters

The first poster just put the two actors cheek to cheek next to each other, Rudd looking serious and Carell looking idiotic and both of them staring at the audience. It’s alright and relies largely on the idea that another team up between these two is going to be inherently funny, especially since Carell is wearing glasses.

A second poster has Carell making the same face but this time standing behind Rudd who has a “I can’t believe I’m in this situation” look on his face, which is appropriate for the character. But the positioning here makes it look like a J.C. Penney Portrait Studio shot that isn’t going Rudd’s way. Again, we’re supposed to read the comedy into the presentation here of Rudd reacting to Carell, which the audience is supposed to find irresistible.

The Trailers

The first trailer first introduces us to the two main characters, Tim and Barry and then lays out the stakes. Tim is seeking a promotion but that advancement seems to be contingent on participating in the titular dinner. He’s about to do the right thing and say “no” but then he runs into – literally – Barry, who’s the answer to his problem. All of this is complicated by the fact that Tim’s girlfriend has understandable moral qualms with this little exercise.

The rest of the trailer is devoted to various sight gags showing just what a nincompoop Barry is, from not knowing John Lennon lyrics to shouting at Animal Planet programming. Stealing the show, though, is Zach Gallifinakis, a friend of Barry’s who winds up being the idiot someone else invites to the dinner.

Oddly the second trailer winds up starting off more like a teaser, with an ominous intro about an elite group gathering in a secret location. This one is more about showing off a handful of funny scenes, with very little plot being forwarded beyond the basic setup of holding a dinner full of odd human beings. It’s still good, but I would have expected this one to be first since it’s more hinting at plot lines instead of laying them out fully as the first one does.

Online

The movie’s official website is…kind of odd. It shows the cast of characters arranged around the table and if you mouse-over most of them you’ll see their name pop up. Clicking that will take you to more information about that character, presented as if it were their own official site. You can also find that under the “Meet the Schmucks” drop down in the right hand corner of the screen.

“Learn About the Film” is where you’ll find the movie’s information.

First up is a “Synopsis” that’s one sentence long. Seriously, one sentence. And it covers about 1/3 of what you learn in the trailer.

“Videos” has just one of the trailers and one of the TV Spots that was created and released as well as three extended clips. There was at least one more trailer created and I’m sure there wasn’t just one TV spot so this is pretty lacking. But after each video is done you can send it to your Twitter or Facebook friends as well as through email.

“Downloads” has four Wallpaper and four Icons and “Cast + Crew” contains the usual sort of biographies and film histories of those in front of and behind the camera for the movie.

The film’s Facebook page is filled with updates on new marketing materials being released as well as plenty of chatter from fans who are expressing their excitement over how funny they are anticipating the movie being.

Advertising and Cross-Promotions

TV commercials were certainly created that more or less imitated the trailers but also featured an outsized portion of Galifinakis, which is not that surprising considering he’s kind of the star of the moment. I also think there was some online advertising that I’ve come across that featured the image of Rudd doing a facepalm while Carell looks on excitedly behind him.

Media and Publicity

Interestingly the initial round of publicity for the movie focused on its title (New York Times, 5/4/10), particularly the use of the word “schmuck” and what its ethnic vocabulary roots are. There’s also the interesting history of the word and its usage in entertainment, with it being one of the words Lenny Bruce was arrested for using on stage and one that was banned from usage on many TV shows. But now it’s just fine to use, correctly or incorrectly, offensive or inoffensive, as the title of a mainstream comedy staring two big movie stars. Yay progress.

Carell and Rudd appeared in a taped segment during the ESPYs in a bit that mocked the recent “Decision” infomercial starring LeBron James on ESPN.

Overall

I’m just shocked – and maybe this is because I’m coming off a few weeks where campaigns seem so paired down – by just how little formal effort seems to have been put into this marketing. Two rather bland posters and a website that has little information on the movie it’s seling…I don’t know. It’s almost like studios are beginning to take the approach of putting as little effort into everything as possible and just buying a bunch of TV time for two or three ads and hoping that savings turns in to net profits.

What there is of the campaign is alright. I like the trailers best of all but that’s almost the robust section of this push. Otherwise it’s alright in that it probably reached the middle suburban audience with what looks like a funny enough movie to head out and take a night off from the kids to enjoy.

PICKING UP THE SPARE

• 07/29/10 – Carell made an appearance on Galifinakis’ “Between Two Ferns” Funny Or Die show.

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