Through the luck of an eBay auction, Brick Studios had the pleasure to grace the 2009 nominees’ presence at the Screen Actor’s Guild Awards Red Carpet. Actually, we were squeezed into these tiny bleacher seats and most people hardly noticed us (except for John Krasinski -- thank you!). But, hey, who are we in the midst of Hollywood celebrities?
Once we came back to reality, on our “long” Los Angeles 4-block walk back to the USC parking garage, we realized that quite a few of the nominees did not walk the Red Carpet. Paula Abdul sure was there, but Meryl Streep was a no-show?? Come on -- that’s just wrong. Was she not attending the show? Gown emergency, perhaps? Or, did she just opt for the back entrance?
Will the following actors please report to the next Red Carpet: Frank Langella, Meryl Streep, Robert Downey, Jr., Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, Kevin Spacey, Tom Wilkinson and Shirley Maclaine.
Do these actors not feel a need to market themselves anymore because they have so many years in the biz and are now Hollywood icons? I believe they should be. The Red Carpet is basically free publicity for all actors. Some actors truly want to see their fans and make them happy, but the majority of the Red Carpet actors just want their share of the publicity. After all, their publicists are just an arm-reach away from them the whole way down the carpet.
Now, let's get serious and discuss the correlation of this glamorous event to the business of advertising and marketing. Even the largest brands, Coke for instance, never cease to market themselves. It doesn't matter what their status or experience is, they constantly need to be in the consumer’s face or eventually they will fade away while the new and intriguing take their place. I am, of course, tying this back to the business of getting new business and how Hollywood movie-making isn't that much different from creating content or marketing for the web. After all, we are an industry full of artists, eclectic personalities and heavy-handed business heads. Sound familiar?
by Sarah Jura
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