The internets were abuzz last week as Disney released the first teaser posters to its upcoming epic videogame-based adventure fantasy "Prince of Persia," starring Jake Gyllenhaal. The buzz surrounded not the images on the posters themselves but the type font used to create the title treatment.
To its credit, Disney went with a modern Helvetica font that invoked feelings of looking at fashion magazines rather than the font movie studios regularly turn to when invoking that desired “this is an epic motion picture that cost us a lot of money so you better go see it because our mortgages are on the line” feeling.
That font, is called Trajan and you can see a little YouTube video here that shows you exactly how many times Trajan is overused in the Hollywood film business.
But the question has been asked why Disney chose the new font and exactly what that means for the future of film marketing. While I don’t have spies within the Disney organization (anymore. Any volunteers?) I can surmise a few things that went through the marketing department’s collective head and conference calls when it developed this artwork campaign.
In order for "Prince of Persia" to succeed in the theatrical marketplace and be successful, it has to be seen by more than the core videogame audience. That’s why just like the poster, the cast is young stylish and hot.
It must have a modern appeal even though the subject matter is rooted in classic myth and supernatural adventure. In order to succeed in the theatrical game you have to hit all four quadrants - the four major demographic groups comprising most theater-goers.
So instead of a tired old font like Trajan, Disney brought in the rookie Helvetica font out onto the field. The font is used frequently in fashion and modern upscale lifestyle magazines and its not a bad thing to have Mr. Gyllenhaal looking like he’s posing for a photo shoot.
All designed to send the message -- this isn’t exactly the videogame movie you think it is. Strike that - Disney would rather you think this is an epic romantic movie adventure than know it’s a videogame movie.
Or at least the female quadrant of the four. After all, women are the ones primarily reading the fashion and lifestyle magazines. Disney doesn’t mind that young game players know it’s a videogame -- they have that audience -- they just aren’t going to advertise that fact to the other three quadrants in their target list.
The second signal that the "Prince of Persia" key art design sends is that times are changing. Just as DVD key art changed the look of movies with its squattier, boxier format, so too is the digital revolution changing what key art means.
