Often, the small details are what stand out the most. This could be from a novel, marketing campaign, movie, and more.
The remake of the film IT, released in 2017, features the arm of Pennywise (the antagonist) holding a red balloon in front of a child in a yellow jacket. This red balloon alone was enough for it to give people the chills, and the more you look at it, the creepier it gets. By analyzing this poster, we'll look into the small details and explain why it was chosen.
Pennywise:
For those who have never seen the film, Pennywise is the clown (remember this since we will be discussing this later). In the poster, at a first glance, we see its right arm and hand – holding a red balloon in front of a child. If you take a closer look, behind the balloon, we see its face.
This very small and chilling detail leads the audience to feel caution, hinting that this is a horror movie. The reason it hardly shows its face is add to the sensation of mystery, intrigue, and fear of the unknown.
If you have not noticed, I’m not calling Pennywise he. Spoiler Alert Pennywise is a sort of shapeshifting alien that feeds on fear and humans, reflecting our own fears; it is not exactly a
human clown. That said, why a clown? Why not embody something else? Clowns are often, or at least used to be, a key element of entertainment for children; kids would trust the clown, engage with the clown, laugh at the clown, etc. Pennywise chooses the form of a clown as a symbolic and strategic figure, having it be fear disguised as fun and being able to lure children because of its appearance.
The Red Balloon:
For many, a balloon is associated with fun and play; well, not in this movie. The red balloon is Pennywise’s, ominous symbol, meaning he was nearby, attempting to lure and kidnap children. This red balloon was in the original book, those who read the novel, knew instantly what it meant; however, those who did not, still felt unsettled at the eerie minimalistic design of the poster.
It's crucial to keep emphasizing the color of the balloon: red. Many associate this color with passion and desire; however, it is also representing danger and warning. This iconic symbol also reflects Pennywise; although his face is partially blocked by the red balloon, it ties together with his crazy red hair, red makeup, and red costume details.
For a horror movie, it is very typical to see the black and red colors. In a marketing standpoint, this balloon helped brand the movie.
The Yellow Jacket:
You can see from the size of the boy, that it is a child wearing a yellow jacket. Yellow often represents happiness, fun, playfulness, etc. all associated terms with childhood. And above the head, the red balloon; signifying that danger is close, in fact it is right in front of the child.
If you take a deeper look at the poster, specifically the child’s head, you can see it is slightly tilted upwards, gazing into the eyes of Pennywise; in other words, gazing into the eyes of danger. This sensation is menacing, but strikes the question: what is behind the red balloon?
Around the child you will see mainly the color black, and perhaps a bit of puddles on the road. This foreboding sensation makes the audience feel uncomfortable, setting a tone for the movie. The contrast of light and dark colors is a representation of lost innocence overconsumed by the darkness around it.
Typography:
Although I am unable to pinpoint the exact font used for the film poster, you can see two distinct fonts. However, you can see the title suggests blood due to a little splatter near the top of the ‘I’ and on the left side of the ‘T’; in addition, both letters aren’t perfectly aligned, giving an uneasy feeling. IT is in all capitals and in red, symbolizing power and danger.
Above the known title, there’s a phrase saying, “You’ll float too”. For a little more context,
Pennywise says this to his victims and it becomes a recurring line in the film. The font is
different because like his clown essence, it is meant to be taken lightly. The placement of the phrase helps tie into the theme of lurking; thus, the creepy looking title being placed right below, symbolizing evil intentions disguised as good – similar to that of a trojan horse.
We’ve discussed the colors and the typography, now let’s focus on Marketing Communication Modes
Marketing communication modes:
- Advertising: this is considered one of the most common and effective marketing communication methods. There are many forms of advertising such as digital media, physical display, print media, etc. Taking horror movies like IT and creating a trailer has its challenges. Questions like: How much do we want to scare the audience? Or: How much do we want the audience to know? For IT, many not only knew the antagonist, but the plot as well. This caused the advertisements to display Pennywise in the background in their advertisements, their trailers, their billboards, and so many other ways.
- Personal Selling: Exclusive fans such as journalists and influencers were invited to watch the pre-screening of the movie.
- Sales Promotion: Early-bird ticket packages and contests were merely temporary incentives to encourage the audience to watch the movie.
- Direct Marketing: Tactics like email campaigns were used for this movie, and not just with a click-to-purchase link, but also with countdowns, behind the scenes footage, and early ticket access.
- Interactive Marketing: Aside from social media and their cryptic posts, there was a use of Augmented Reality (AR), and Virtual Reality (VR). The VR world allowed users to be in the city where IT takes place, Derry. These users must go down the sewer, and explore the city, but there is a catch: avoid being caught by Pennywise to gain exclusive movie content - and yes, you can try again. As for AR, other users logged onto Snapchat to send a funny filter to their friends. If
you’re anything like me, a new filter popped up at the bottom and when we
clicked, a scary clown, Pennywise, was behind me – and yes, I jumped.
- Public Relations/ Media relations/Publicity: Many early screenings, panels with the cast, and the very famous red balloon were seen everywhere; this created a sense of curiosity, especially those who have not seen the film.
- Corporate Philanthropy: Warner Bros. supported community events, and many
proceeds were donated to children’s charities.
- Events/Experiences: There was a major pop-up event, recreating locations from the film. Many got scared, felt threatened, were cautious about their next move – all of which, was intentional.
- Word of Mouth: Passionate influencers, or simply horror movie fanatics, gave positive comments online. The communities formed together to find easter eggs and started viral trends.
- Research and Listening: Before this all began, the marketing team needed to test diverse groups relying on feedback to create this successful campaign.
That said, the senses play a crucial role marketing communication, especially for horror films.
Although we’ve discussed some of these topics, lets break more down. Marketing
Communication formats:
• Static Visual Imagery: The red balloon. Though we’ve discussed this previously, it is
important to reiterate that during the movie, this red balloon signals immediate danger.
• Dynamic Visual Imagery (or Moving Imagery): - This refers to motion element, such as
Pennywise’s movements, being in the sewer, and constant pacing.
• Music – This eerie tone, haunting piano guides the audience’s reaction and conveying
fear.
• Static Text: We’ve previously discussed the phrase “you’ll float too”; and not only appeared in the film and poster, but it also appeared on merchandise. The menacing words became so memorable, it struck an uncomfortable feeling with most audiences.
• Dynamic (Moving) Text – The title, release dates, credits, and taglines fade in and out of the film and its trailers. This is consistent with the tone of the movie by generating suspense.
• Speaking: When Pennywise asks “Do you want a balloon?” or says, “You’ll float you.” It is said with a threat. However, if you were to take away the context of the film, these seem like nonthreatening phrases that could potentially be used in a normal day.
• Other (proximity): One of the most popular scenes is the drain and sewer scene – if you have never seen the movie, I’m sure you’ve seen the meme. This proximity Pennywise and Georgie (which just so happens to be the kid in the yellow jacket on the poster) influenced the intensity of the scene.
• Nothing/silence- Horror movies rely on silence and nothing to deepen the scare that comes after. The absence of sound gives the audience an unsettling emotion, directed focus, and heightened tension.
In an interview with Ann Handley, she mentions how video and written content offer a stronger product; and in my opinion, it's true. Yes, the video captures the attention, and since we are promoting a movie, it's necessary to capture it on video. However, audiences also connect with articles written about what was happening on set, how actors were treated, and especially on subjects like Stephen King's reflections I also believe that Virtual reality will change how marketers tell stories and will offer a greater product. The VR capacity heightens sight and sound. People could literally be stepping into a world that they don't know and try to grasp the concept of the story the best they can. In the VR world for IT, it places the audience to escape Pennywise, naturally, I'd run away; Hopefully if those googles were to be put on you right now,
you will run from a killer clown. VR doesn't rely on only on horror films; this has the potential to change the way we view ads, movies, and much more.
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