Synergy is when a product is advertised on different media platforms; with continuing themes to achieve a recognisable brand and identity. This creates more public awareness, since people are more likely to remember the film, based on its unique and original style.
1. This is the advertising campaign for the film; Deadpool.
This is the poster for the film. It shows the main character laying on the title letters, looking relaxed and chilled out. The caption says 'wait till you get a load of me' which displays the confidence and quirky, egotistic attitude of Deadpool. The colour scheme is black and red because it matches his outfit. These colours connote blood and danger, which are themes in this movie since it is R rated. The simple white background makes the features stand out and draws more attention to the title and character. Deadpool is a lovable character, so he is all that's needed to draw in fans. Apart from his appearance, there is nothing else advertised on this poster. So the audience is left to wonder what the actual movie is about.
The DVD cover also displays the character in a humorous, quirky position (with the guns up his nose) and the words 'Wait till you get a load of me' are on the back of the cover. The repetition of this phrase on both platforms, makes it memorable and creates hype since we want to see how awesome Deadpool really is. His pose shows that he is unafraid of danger and is always relaxed in extreme situations. This makes his character original, thus standing out from other stereotypical protagonists. The black and red colour theme is also prominent on this cover; which makes the audience associate that design with this movie and his outfit. The only difference between this cover and the poster is that this background is much more describing. This is because the DVD needs to provide more information to sell the physical copy of the film to the viewer and convince them to watch it over the competition.
Here is a screenshot of the trailer. The narration speaks directly to the audience (much like the captions on the magazine and poster) and often breaks the fourth wall. Like the images used on both covers, the trailer shots are centred on the character. His humorous dialogue and behaviour matches his amusing body language in the pictures. He is indifferent and unafraid in the face of danger; which is probably because he's an indestructible fighting machine. He is completely confident in his powerful abilities, which relates to the egotism in his catchphrase 'get a load of me'. After displaying his amiable persona and impressive skillset, he certainly lives up to that hype.
The credits in the trailer are black and red, which again follows the colour scheme and matches the character's appearance.
2. This is the advertising campaign for the film; Dead Silence
This is the DVD cover. The main image is a puppet who stares menacingly at the audience. He is the face of the film, which is more effective than a human character since it is more creepy. There is a decayed, old female hand in front of the puppets lips. This relates to the title, as the hand is presumably from a corpse and the hand sign is signalling silence. Other noticeable elements include the black background, the blurred film title and the caption; 'you scream, you die'.
This is one of the movie's posters. We can see the puppet again, but instead of sitting idly, it is holding an old woman's head (who is clearly dead). It implies that the puppet probably killed her. This time, she is staring at the audience, much like the puppet was in the DVD cover. This create the theme of 'being watched' across both of the media platforms. The two characters seem to be one life form, as the woman is controlling the puppet, yet it is the puppet that seems to have a mind of its own.
The background here is also dark, but we can see more of the setting; which is a warehouse full of dolls. The caption; 'from the creators of saw' are repeated on this poster. This is a use of synergy as viewers will remember it as being a product of those creators.
Here is a screenshot from the trailer. Once again, we see the two same characters, which are recognised from the poster and DVD cover.
In the trailer we see how Mary Shaw (the old woman) died, we see her puppets and we see why being silent can mean life or death. These are linking themes between the trailer, cover and poster.
For example, the puppets were displayed on the poster and now we get to see who made them. We also see why the specific puppet that she is holding is significant.
Almost all of the scenes have a dark filter with a murky background. This is similar to the black backgrounds on the covers; where anything could be lurking in the shadows.
The credits of the trailer are silver, against a black background. This matches the font on the covers; thus creating continuity. If the design and editing style of the ad campaign where to change, it would change the audience's perception and awareness of the film. Without the recognisable elements, they could mistake it for a different film entirely. This makes it hard for them to remember, meaning the money spent on different advertising techniques (e.g. posters) would be a waste.
Spreading awareness wont work if the audience aren't aware of what the product actually is.
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