| Snakes on a cell phone |
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| Friday, 18 August 2006 | ||||||
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Last week, I spent a good portion of my time hiding out in the mountains surrounding the Saint Joe River. That meant no checking e-mail, no watching TV and absolutely no cell phones. But after a long and complicated situation involving chocolate milkshakes and a flat tire, I found myself in St. Maries with the opportunity to check my voicemail. The first two messages were normal, but the third one was an immediate mystery. The message started mid-sentence, with an unfamiliar male voice: “..so listen up! On Aug. 18, forget about your regular job, studying all those brain-busting school books.” The voice went on to insist that I stop gambling and “quit trying to pump up those muscles!” What on earth was this? Then the punch line that explained it all: “Walk out that door, go get your coworker and go see ‘Snakes on a Plane,’ the one summer blockbuster that will take a big, nasty bite out of your butt. Do as I say and you live. You don’t want to mess with me on this one, because I will come after you, you hear me?” Oh. Right. “Snakes on a Plane.” The voice was that of Samuel L. Jackson, the star of a film that is already the biggest camp blockbuster in history, even before it hit theaters. I’d heard about the movie (endlessly) from entertainment magazines and the Argonaut’s former movie reviewer, Tyler Wilson. “Snakes on a Plane” hasn’t received so much attention merely for its kooky name or star — it’s become the center of a pop-culture maelstrom because the folks at New Line Pictures are marketing geniuses. The first good move was indulging Jackson’s demands and retaining the title “Snakes on a Plane” instead of going with something more serious. The second was listening to rabid fanboys who set up Web sites based on the title and speculation alone. According to the Internet Movie Database, the attention led New Line to do a five-day re-shoot in March to include scenes and lines suggested on fansites. But this Samuel L. Jackson on my cell phone thing was entirely new. After returning to civilization and high-speed Internet, I did a little research about the mysterious message. Turns out New Line made a deal with VariTalk, an “audio solutions” company. People who visit snakesonaplane.varitalk.com can personalize and send phone and e-mail messages to their friends advertising “Snakes.” (After a brief search, I discovered the culprit behind my message was Ryli Hennessey, the Argonaut’s arts editor. Thanks, dude!) This ingenious campaign has already proven its worth — VariTalk reported 100,000 messages sent in the first 24 hours. So was my strange moment with Samuel L. a preview of things to come? New Line has already set precedents in fan/filmmaker collaboration, and may very well popularize this new way of advertising. Imagine answering your phone and discovering that your brother recommends Pepsi, your best friend loves Mac computers or your doctor advises getting a prescription for Claritin. Any company could set up a Web site like VariTalk’s allowing pitches to be sent straight to your waiting ear. Ingenious? Yes. Bad news for a society that’s already overwhelmed by advertising? Heck yeah. If I come home from next year’s camping trip to find an ad for “Snakes on a Plane 2: Snakes in a Minivan,” I’ll be paraphrasing Jackson’s iconic “Snakes” line: “Get these *@#&@) ads off my !@#(%&#@ phone.”  Add as favorites (87) | Views: 2508
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