x; The Expendables

Watch this advert:




Please excuse my generalisations... it's all just for argument's sake:

This is a fan-made trailer, but is interesting enough to be worth considering. Were this an official trailer, what would the reaction be? Most likely not positive, but now that it's out there, let's think about its effects. Imagine this was an official trailer:

Is this great advertising, or a big mistake? I think it's good. The women that are isolated by this ad are predominantly girls who would not have wanted to see it in the first place. This ad targets the marketing unsubtly and boldly at a specific audience, and why not? The film is clearly not likely to pretend to be anything other than what it is, with Stallone producing it, and the likes of Schwarzenegger and Willis starring.

There are a lot of girls who do like this sort of film, and they may claim that they resent being excluded from the joke here, but here's the catch: those girls that enjoy this sort of film and who will want to see it already appreciate that it's a "guy's film", and by making it even more of a "guy's film", the advertisers are in fact appealing to those girls even more. They will be all the keener to prove their love of this sort of film now that it has marketed itself as the ultimate "guy film".

Then, does it really appeal to all blokes? I definitely wouldn't particularly class myself as particularly susceptible to this sort of approach to my masculinity. I am proud that my film tastes reach a long way out from the basic love of Rambo. However, I can't pretend that this ad didn't draw me to the film. It reaches at part of what is inside almost every guy, and makes them feel shamed if they aren't excited about it. I can't help but feel obligated to see it now, and to actively enjoy it.

This advert is not an official trailer, and it couldn't be. Internet fan-made trailers for almost everything are almost always utter crap. I just think that this one has a surprisingly effective message. It's not genius or anything incredible, but it does have a bit more ability to influence people than the majority of fan-made trailers of montages of film scenes. Makes me want to blow some stuff up, too.