Marketing a movie can be tricky, as it takes finding the right kind of campaign to draw audiences in. Obviously, this isn’t a problem with the Fast and Furious movie franchise, which has generated hundreds of millions of dollars with each new release.
However, the death of co-star Paul Walker in a tragic automobile audience back in November 2013 left the newest chapter in the series, Furious 7, up in the air for several months. Eventually, Universal Studios was able to complete the film, using a combination of CGI and Walker’s siblings to fill in his unfinished shots, and, with the help of writer Chris Morgan, made an ending that sent off Walker in a very emotional style.
Marketing the film became a bit of a challenge, as Universal didn’t want to push too many buttons in terms of Walker’s death. However, this article by Business Insider indicates that many were pleased with the way it was pushed, in a “restrained but effective” manner, according to one industry marketing executive.
“They didn’t lean on it, but they touched on it,” said another insider, referring to Walker’s death in the midst of the film’s production.
As you can see by the poster above from Vin Diesel’s Instagram account, Walker played a big part in the advertising for the film, but the tone in which it sets is more dramatic, leaning less on cars and more on the relationship between “brothers,” namely Walker and Vin Diesel, who had grown more close with the production of each sequel following Fast & Furious.
Over the weekend, Universal was silent when it came to the movie’s marketing, but eventually spoke after it racked up a massive $140 million-plus weekend take. “I can tell you personally that I’m very proud of the way the studio and marketing department walked us through what otherwise would have been a very tricky situation,” said Universal’s president of domestic distribution Nick Carpou, speaking to TheWrap.
“They handled everything that had to do with Paul respectfully and positively, and what emerged is more respect and a celebration for Paul and the franchise to the world. For the production team, Vin (Diesel) and the rest of the cast, this was a matter of personal importance and that shows through.”
The campaign came across as something to excite fans for the film, but without going overboard on being exploitative or disrespectful. “I think from the very moment of Walker’s tragic passing, Universal did a masterful job of honoring his memory and respecting his legacy, while at the same time going about the business of marketing one of the biggest movies on their slate,” said Rentrak senior analyst Paul Dergarabedian. “Furious 7 was shifted from its original August 2014 release date in the wake of his death.
“It takes a tremendous amount of sensitivity and diplomacy to walk the perfect public relations tightrope whenever something unexpectedly tragic like this happens,” he continued. “There was clearly a lot of thought that went into the handling of this and how Walker is portrayed not only in the trailers and imagery of the film, but also how he is represented in a very poignant and respectful way within the film itself.”
Furious 7 drew in audiences not only with a heaping amount of action (including a jailbreak on a moving truck and a car driving through two buildings in Abu Dhabi), but also an emotional farewell to Walker in the conclusion, complete with clips from previous Fast and Furious films he appeared in.
Furious 7 is in movies now, and even if you’re a newcomer to the series, it’s worth checking out.
