A little update on New Captain Scarlet DVD.

[Father Unwin]

I think it would be an innovative idea to actually provide all readers of a mainstream national newspaper with a free DVD of the first episode, "Instrument of Destruction".

No doubt the newspaper would then launch a big tv advertising campaign for that particular issue of the newspaper which would make sure that EVERYBODY gets to know about NCS, particularly the older generation.

The beauty of the first episode is that it is part 1 of a 2 parter. The packaging of this freebie should make it clear that there is a new box set coming out on 17th October containing the conclusion to "Instrument of Destruction".

Everyone seems to agree that ITV have failed to hit the family target audience, and particularly the adult fans, of the original series. I think that supplying a free DVD of the first episode to, say, The Sun would be of tremendous benefit.

Maybe the Sun could then start a campaign to get Gerry the rights to Thunderbirds CGI.

[Clya Brown]

I think that's an absolutely superb idea. Such tactics CAN produce a result even after a couple of bean-counters employed by the television company have pulled out their calculators and decided that such-and-such a show is insufficiently profitable to warrant the allocation of funds to promote it: at this last weekend's Fanderson convention Gerry himself cited the amount of noise that Star Trek fans made after the show had been taken off the air, which was absolutely instrumental in getting it brought back - and the rest is history. All it takes is vision - something that is a rare commodity in most financial circles, where the instinct is invariably against the taking of risks. This is understandable if you're playing with somebody else's money, but where is the risk in such a strategy as this one? The product already exists, for heaven's sake: it's only a question of letting everybody know that it's there.

Maybe not the Sun, though. The Sun sees itself as a lads' rag, and I suspect we need to go about half a generation further back into the past than that: after all, we need to get the adults who have young children. It's got to be targeted at the right readership: how does it go? To paraphrase the immortal Jim Hacker:

The Times is read by the people who run the country.
The Daily Mirror is read by the people who think they run the country.
The Guardian is read by the people who think they ought to run the country.
The Morning Star is read by the people who think the country ought to be run by another country.
The Independent is read by people who don’t know who runs the country but are sure they’re doing it wrong.
The Daily Mail is read by the wives of the people who run the country.
The Financial Times is read by the people who own the country.
The Daily Express is read by the people who think the country ought to be run as it used to be run.
The Daily Telegraph is read by the people who still think it is their country.
And the Sun’s readers don’t care who runs the country providing she has big boobs.

Take your pick - I suppose if anybody reckons that Destiny's bright enough to run the country then perhaps the Sun's the right place after all.

[shaqui]

Maybe not the Sun, though. The Sun sees itself as a lads' rag, and I suspect we need to go about half a generation further back into the past than that: after all, we need to get the adults who have young children. It's got to be targeted at the right readership: how does it go?

Maybe not the Sun but how about the Daily Mirror? I seem to recall them doing quite big promotions for 'Thunderbirds', 'Stingray' and 'Captain Scarlet' when the series were repeated in the early 1990s. I still have my wallcharts from these...

[Father Unwin]

I seem to remember that the Daily Mail included a colour double page spread (the colour may have been supplied by my imagination over time) when Thunderbirds was first televised in the 60's. This was at a time when there was little or no colour printing in newspapers. I suppose the trick is to hit a readership of at least one million people or, failing that, use the newspaper whose editors have the most enthusiasm for the series.

Also, you may remember that more recently, around Christmas of 1992, the need to recruit workers to 'string' the 5 Pelham Puppet Thunderbird characters - Scott, Virgil, Lady P, Parker and Brains - hit the main BBC News headlines. If the opportunity arises, it would be great to be able to say, again around Christmas, that there is a huge shortage of NCS toys and DVD boxsets. I guess you need 'insiders' for that kind of thing!

[shadokp]

Or as I mentioned in another topic earlier this month - a free disc in Radio Times - although most of you probably know the better publication to insert a free DVD in. Is Radio Times primary a BBC product? Would they promote shows like NCS as with that contest to win the set?

Also, I like the idea of the first episode as a freebie for many reasons BUT I think the series really took off after the first episode and perhaps a later stand alone episode like Rat Trap would be more ideal. The animation is more representative of the entire series.

If they could mass produce an episode on disc with even a trailer and info on the DVD then millions would probably be exposed to the series. That is what NCS needs.


KP

[yorkie]

How about on the cover of the new Captain Scarlet comic (suppose you've got to know about the show first though) or one of the other kids comics? I've previously noticed Power Rangers episodes on a few comics in the newsagents. Also the DVD magazines usually have a free DVD or Video-CD on the cover each month. I recall XL5 amd Classic Scarlet on a couple of magazines when the box sets came out. Or how about the specialist SF magazines - Starburst, SFX etc. Too specialist?

[Father Unwin]

I think that we are only having this discussion because publicity by ITV and Granada Ventures has so far been a total failure. I think desperate situations call for desperate remedies and there is no time left to waste.

I suggested a national newspaper because I think we need to hit 1 million readers right now, before the DVD release. This would maybe make it look like such an operation was carefully planned in advance and that the distributors were in control.

In the old days, the Radio Times would have been perfect because it had a huge readership but nowadays I would think that sales figures are minimal, especially with so many free tv guides.

In the case of DVD magazines, I would fear that this is not the target audience and that the again the sales figures would be fairly small. We need a BIG BANG approach now.

Of course, I have no idea what the logistics and cost of distributing 1 million DVDs via a national newspaper would be. I would expect Granada Ventures to provide the source material free of charge and the newspaper to pay for producing the DVDs and packaging and pay for any TV adverts for the paper. Does anyone know how such a scheme would usually operate?

[Chris C]

I don't think where or in what the show gets advertised in really matters. If they (Granada?) stuck an advert for the DVD in just half a dozen mainstream publications it would get the message across. The problem is that for some reason they don't want to advertise the show. I commented originally on the lack of the DVD's being mentioned in DVD magazines because everything else is - Barbie, SpongeBob, lots of others I can't remember now. You have a show here which cost around 23 million(?) to make and it doesn't even seem to rank alongside shows like these!! I bought a copy of the TV times (ITV's equivalent to the BBC's Radio Times) when the second series started, and it didn't even mention it in the listing for MoM. The Radio Times did!! NCS would have been treated properly if the BBC had got hold of it. I think Granada should be totally ashamed of themselves.

[shadokp]

Who distributes the DVD in the UK? Granada or Sony?

KP

[shadokp]

While I still believe the free DVD in a magazine or newspaper would be the best answer, TV and print ads would help as well. How much would it cost to put an ad for the DVD in one of the better newspapers in the UK?

Also, internet ads may be the easiest, cheapest and quickest way right now. Publicity and reviews of the DVD on various sites can help but what about those rotating ads that show up on various sites? Is there a way for the NCS DVD to appear on Amazon's first page for a few days? What web sites would be the target for such ads? What if someone reviewed the DVD set for Aint it Cool News or similar popular sites?

Then of course there are Bus signs and billboards!

KP

[shaqui]

While I still believe the free DVD in a magazine or newspaper would be the best answer, TV and print ads would help as well. How much would it cost to put an ad for the DVD in one of the better newspapers in the UK?

Assuming you're serious, as an example, a full page colour advert in the Daily Express would cost £32,000.

[shadokp]

I wasn't planning on doing it myself but surely Sony or Granada or Anderson Entertainment could invest that much.

We as fans could follow the example of Enterprise fans and take ads out ourselves but we are talking quite a larger number of people for them. The NCS numbers must be much lower.

How about 1,000 pounds by each of us for an ad? Who's game?

KP

[Chris C]

No chance, not even for Captain Scarlet!! But I'd wear a t-shirt with the DVD stamped all over the front and back and walk around Portsmouth and Southampton on the next Saturday or two.... !!

(I assume you'd have no problems with that after your red shirt confession....!!)

[shaqui]

I wasn't planning on doing it myself but surely Sony or Granada or Anderson Entertainment could invest that much.

We as fans could follow the example of Enterprise fans and take ads out ourselves but we are talking quite a larger number of people for them. The NCS numbers must be much lower.

How about 1,000 pounds by each of us for an ad? Who's game?

KP

Well I think the budget of the series should take into account advertising, and simply getting the brand or license in the public eye.

The fact that NCS is buried - without its own time slot or publicity - in MOM, isn't really doing that. The latest SFX does have a full page colour ad, and double page feature on the main hardware, and I think the cult and TV magazines can and will promote the show quite heavily but this is almost a niche market that doesn't touch on the greater viewing public.

[Chris C]

Well I think the comic will help. I don't think my kids are that untypical of boys, and since it's got a great cover and a 'spectrum shooter' stuck on the front it's bound to attract attention even from kids who may not have come across CS before! Once they've got it home, they'll hopefully get hooked, or if nothing else their parents will.....