02/04/2009

The Industry Trust for the promotion and protection of copyright and creativity has changed its earlier approach, where pirates were criminalized in their advertising campaigns. Instead, in a bid to appeal to consumers, the body is launching three new advertisements that thank people for returning to the cinemas.

Made by director Steve Bendelack (Mr. Bean's Holiday [+see also:
trailer
film profile]), the advertisements portray film fans celebrating scenes from Life of Brian, Jaws and Lord of the Rings and conclude with the tagline “You make the movies”. According to the Trust, its earlier campaign “You wouldn’t steal a car – piracy is theft” was a success and saw ticket and DVD sales increase in 2008.

Trust Director General Liz Bales said, “Against the recessionary backdrop, it is more important than ever for the public to continue to support UK filmmakers by buying the real deal. Our new ‘You Make the Movies’ campaign acknowledges the public’s vital contribution.”

UK Film Council CEO John Woodward said, “It’s important that we as an industry enable consumers to make a legal choice, and both thank and celebrate those that do so.”

Adulthood [+see also:
trailer
film profile] director Noel Clarke, who did the voice-over for the advertisements, said, “We know recession is hard but if you’re going to the cinema and you see something like this – it’s a little bit of humour to say thank you for coming. Here’s the industry not saying ‘Don’t do this’, but instead celebrates the public by saying ‘Here’s a skit of a film you may remember’.”

“It’s a way of thanking them because without them doing that the movie industry could be in jeopardy. If everyone chose to buy knock-off DVDs and downloads, eventually British film production would dry up altogether,” he added.