CASE STUDY: When Malaysian men rescued Angelina Jolie and saved the box office

Aim:
As Malaysian moviegoers generally prefer Hollywood 'macho movies' packed with action and CGI effects, Salt — being a mystery thriller riding only on Angelina Jolie's appeal with none of the above — faced a challenge in attracting an audience. 

Among the plethora of summer releases in Malaysia include the widely anticipated Inception and The Twilight Saga. Buena Vista Columbia TriStar Films issued UM Malaysia the challenge to fuel curiosity about Salt and drive men to the cinemas.

Execution:
In Salt, Angelina Jolie's character is in dire straits and needs to survive an espionage conspiracy against her. UM utilised the common gender dichotomy of male seen as hero and female as damsel in distress with an assumption that it is every hot-blooded male's fantasy to be Jolie's knight in shining armour to stir up suspense and curiosity in the movie.

Teaser web banners on men's interest websites and messenger apps asked for their mobile numbers. Once the magic digits were entered, a movie trailer begins, showing Jolie dialing and calling out for help.

Results:
The campaign was viewed 2.5 million times and reached 77 per cent of the campaign's male  audience successfully. Close to 800,000 showed up at cinemas, racking up Salt's box office collections 36 per cent higher than Jolie's previous release, Wanted. Salt also topped Inception's  opening weekend takings in Malaysia. To top it all up, the campaign clinched the silver award at the 7th Malaysian Media Awards 2011.