PITCHING FRENCH FILMS TO HOLLYWOOD

Short List
TitlePITCHING FRENCH FILMS TO HOLLYWOOD
BrandALLIANCE FRANÇAISE DE SINGAPOUR
Product / ServiceCINE-CLUB
CategoryB09. Celebrity Endorsement
EntrantALLIANCE FRANçAISE DE SINGAPOUR Singapore, SINGAPORE
Idea Creation OGILVY & MATHER SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE
PR OGILVY PUBLIC RELATIONS WORLDWIDE Singapore, SINGAPORE
Production JOINERY Los Angeles, USA

Credits

Name Company Position
Eugene Cheong Ogilvy & Mather Singapore Chief Creative Officer
Nicolas Courant Ogilvy & Mather Singapore Executive Creative Director
Axel Grimald Ogilvy & Mather Singapore Creative Director
Aritra Dutta Ogilvy & Mather Singapore Senior Copywriter
David Stevanov Ogilvy & Mather Singapore Senior Art Director
Kevin Wijaya Ogilvy & Mather Singapore Digital Art Director
Carole Domange Ogilvy & Mather Singapore Global Group Account Director
Alvin Chin Ogilvy & Mather Singapore Regional Head of creative Services
James Brook-Partridge Hogarth & Ogilvy Singapore Head of Broadcast Production
Justine Hazlett Ogilvy & Mather Singapore TV Producer
Stephenie Lee Hogarth & Ogilvy Singapore Art Buyer
Leon Lee Hogarth & Ogilvy Singapore Senior Editor
Alex Grossman Joinery Director
Gerard Cantor Joinery Managing Director
Elliot Lucas Joinery Executive Producer
Mark McCune Joinery Producer
Ross Girard Joinery Head of Production
Seamus Tierney Joinery Director of Photography
Chelsea Oliver Joinery Art Director
Charlie Zwick Joinery Editor
Aaron Fitzgerald Joinery Additional Editorial
Edward Flores Joinery Casting Director
Elaine Ong Miracle Factory Digital Imaging Artist
Dionne Chin Miracle Factory Executive Director
Omar De Vera Freeflow Productions Senior Editor
Cara Suplido Freeflow Productions Producer

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.