The Four 'E's of Film & What Consumers Really Want

People generally watch film for the same reasons. Entertainment. Education. Enlightenment. But there’s one ‘E’ that is even more vital to the success of film. It’s something we get an instant hit of  - within seconds of the film beginning. 

Escapism. 

Today’s world assaults our brain. Emails, texts, whatsapps, snapchats, FOMO, gossip... would you life like fries with that? Emergency meeting! Facebook friend request, nappy changes, billboards screaming at us, pop-up banners saying CLICK HERE OR FACE A LIFETIME OF MISERY AND DOOM… just thinking about it is exhausting.   

Isn’t it wonderful to have a moment of peace? Where your brain doesn’t have to do the hard work. Whether it’s a 90-minute feature film, or as Guy Ritchie has recently done for Ted Baker, a 3 minute short. There’s something about watching a film that instantly heals us. And it’s down to the glorious feeling of escapism. 

It’s great to see brands in this space. Away from all of the noise that people are desperately trying to filter out. It leads to a greater emotional connection between audience and brand. It allows product to feature in a way that isn’t heavy-handed. And most of all, it puts creativity at the forefront of the process, something that seems to have gone missing in most communication these days. After all, you can’t write a good film without allowing creativity to run free. 

That said, many will argue that it’s easier for a fashion brand to do this, than say for a bottle of Flash Clean and Spray Lemon Shine. Fashion is inherently fabulous, cleaning the kitchen inherently boring. And because it treats itself that way, Flash Clean and Spray Lemon Shine dives straight into spoof territory when it dabbles with film. The audience groans. Now it’s just another thing that gets in the way on your Facebook feed. 

But who says Flash or Persil Automatic or any household staple couldn’t be behind one of the greatest branded short films of all time? 

Let me set the scene. 

A man pulls into the driveway of his home. He gets out a bag of shopping from the car, a bottle of Flash Clean and Spray Lemon Shine poking out. His cat is in the garden. He scoops it up and heads to the front door which is gaping wide open. The man stops in his tracks. He steps inside and puts the cat down. He calls out for his wife. He heads upstairs, visibly concerned, still calling for her. Tension starts to build through the music score sitting beneath the action. He goes into the bedroom and sees the iron still plugged in, steaming hot. A pretty dress lays on the ironing board. The man runs around the house searching for his wife. He dashes into the living room and stops short. The floor is covered with glass shards from an overturned coffee table. The man backs up and… 

I’m about to hit the word limit of this article but you may have noticed that was a scene from the smash hit movie Gone Girl (below), featuring a bottle of Flash Clean and Spray Lemon Shine. 

OK, the product is a bit shoe-horned in and there may not be quite as much room for the ‘sparkling clean floor shot’. That’s where we need to relax the rules that too many clients and agencies end up following. 

Life is full of stories to tell that people want to hear. That’s what is so amazing about film. As long as it’s a great story, we will never tire of it. A bottle of Flash can sit right in the middle of a thrilling drama if it wants to, leading to a deeper connection between audience and brand. It will give everyone a slice of what they need. 

And a moment of wonderful, blissful escapism.