I’m of two minds about the ad campaign for Seven Pounds.
On one hand, the vagueness gets my attention. Take this preview: It’s gimmicky and manipulative, yes, but it raises tantalizing questions. Why would Will Smith give his house to a stranger? Why is he talking like Rain Man? Why does Rosario Dawson keeping getting cast in things?Â
On the other hand, I’ve been duped by flashy marketing before. In middle school there were all these billboards near the mall that asked, “Is Chattanooga Ready to Get Maxed?,” and after a few weeks, I was going crazy. “Yes! Yes!” I screamed. “Max me! Whatever it is, just max me!”
But it was all just an ad for a grocery store. A grocery store called Foodmax. So. Lame.
Also, remember that episode of The Simpsons where the angel skeleton is just a ploy to announce a new shopping mall? I’m concerned that Seven Pounds could be a Foodmax/angel situation. What if the studio is selling us all this mystery because it knows the movie sucks? What if it believes actual plot details would make us turn away in disgust?
Early reviews suggest that could be the case. What do you guys think? Are you going to “weight” and see, or are you in for a penny, in for seven pounds?







3 responses so far ↓
1 Joe Reid // Dec 17, 2008 at 6:39 pm
Aw. Your dismissal of Rosario Dawson makes me sad.
But, yeah, I’m pissed at how much this marketing tease has increased the likelihood I’ll see this movie.
2 Collin H // Dec 17, 2008 at 10:07 pm
I have a general rule of thumb that steers me away from any Will Smith movie that doesn’t involve the phrase “Welcome to earth!” and punches to extraterrestrial noggins.
Also, Rosario Dawson is awesome and you know it.
3 Robert // Dec 21, 2008 at 11:01 am
I saw it and loved it. I believe it’s a very deep and emotional movie and if people put there expectations aside you would find it to be really interesting.
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