The Campaign

We pitched three films to Hollywood heavyweights. What they didn’t know is that these films were existing French cinema masterpieces. They rejected the pitches as they thought these ideas didn’t match their criteria of what can make a successful film.

Execution

We created a series of humorous videos that captured the cautious and negative reactions of these Hollywood professionals. These videos were shared

By demonstrating that you can make great films without following Hollywood formulas, this campaign helped change the perception of people who think Hollywood films are the ultimate form of cinema and showed them how French films offer a completely different cinematic experience. The campaign created lots of buzz in the social media and made the headline in the new channels like Hollywood Reporter, Vanity Fair, The Independent and The Times. Starting with the journalists, soon people across the world including Hollywood celebrities and other film professionals started discussing about the necessity for cultural diversity. In the end, the campaign actually attracted 43% more non-French people to book tickets for the French Cinema screenings.

The Situation

The non-French audience in Asia tends to prefer Hollywood blockbusters over French cinema. They think Hollywood films are the ultimate form of cinema. By demonstrating that you can make great films without following Hollywood formulas, this campaign helped change their perception and showed them how French films offer a completely different cinematic experience. The campaign created lots of buzz and made the headline news. Starting with the journalists, the people in social media started discussing about the necessity for cultural diversity. In the end, the campaign actually attracted 43% more non-French people to book tickets for the French Cinema screenings.

The Strategy

We needed to position French cinema as a very distinct cinema experience compared to Hollywood cinema. To do so, we decided to demonstrate that you can make great films without having to follow the Hollywood usual formulas and that’s all what French Cinema is about.