NBC Airs Bee Movie TV Juniors
Seinfeld Promotes DreamWorks Animation Movie in Commercial Spots
Oct 12, 2007 Dominic von Riedemann
If a movie's box office was based solely on the originality of its promotional material, then DreamWorks Animation's Bee Movie would certainly be racking up the receipts come November 2nd. With the glaring exception of its posters (to be fair, the latest one was a definite improvement), Jerry Seinfeld and company have put together some great promos for this flick, that the other studios' marketing departments will be analyzing and emulating for years to come.
Now comes what Seinfeld calls "TV Juniors," 30-second spots that will air on NBC to promote the movie. Three of them are currently airing on NBC's website and they're pretty funny.
"Hunting for Animators": Inadvertently Courting Controversy
The first one, "Hunting for Animators," details how Jerry and his cohorts have to hunt for the best artists in order to make this movie.
"It takes 350 people to make an animated movie and they come from all over the world," intones Jerry in this spot. "Sometimes, through an electrified fence."
Cut to a scene where, night-vision goggles and tranquilizer guns in hand, Jerry and his compadres seek out and capture their wily prey (in this case, a guy in a bunny outfit) as they "sneak into this country."
I'm not sure I'm liking the "illegal immigrants" angle Jerry went for in this spot; that opens a can of worms that I'm not sure Seinfeld and DreamWorks Animation is quite ready for. I can see a lot of recent immigrants, especially those from Latin America, getting offended at this one.
"Toothbrush TV": But Are They Watching a Legal Copy?
"Toothbrush TV" details how, thanks to the wonders of modern technology, you can enjoy Bee Movie while watching it on your can opener, garage door opener and even your electric toothbrush.
"Bee Movie," Jerry says, turning to the audience. "What are you going to watch it on?"
Oh yes, and a crushed can plays a pivotal role in this spot.
"Super Chicken": Bwaaawwwk!
The third TV Junior, "Super Chicken," has Jerry telling the viewer, "One thing that I've learned in all my years in animation, is that if you don't have good theme music in your movie, you don't have good theme music in your movie."
(We did mention that Bee Movie is Seinfeld's first animated feature film, right?)
Cut to Jerry meeting with his writers, and getting mugged in Memory Lane as he discusses the importance of having good theme music
With the possible exception of the first spot, this is all great stuff. It's an old cliché, but if this movie is as good as the promo going into marketing it, we could have a winner on our hands. Check out the TV Juniors for Bee Movie by clicking here.
Certainly these TV Juniors, dripping with Jerry Seinfeld's distinctive brand of comedy, will play well to fans of his old television series. The question now remains, how will they play to the children of those old Seinfeld fans?
Find out when Bee Movie opens November 2nd.
Bee Movie poster
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