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Space Camp: How Do You Approach One of the Biggest Marketing Nightmares of All Time?
Trying to promote a movie after a national tragedy
Marketing a movie is difficult at the best of times.
How do you share the tone and essence of the movie and not give away too much? How do you draw people in; but leave them wanting more? How do you make sure you direct your marketing to the right audience; but not alienate others?
What about taking on the biggest marketing nightmare in movie history?
That’s what 20th Century Fox had to face in 1986 when they released the movie Space Camp.
Space Camp had a lot going for it. It was a big, fun action-adventure about kids attending a real space camp and accidentally getting launched into space.
The movie featured some big talent — at the time — including Kelly Preston, Lea Thompson fresh off of Back to the Future, Tom Skerritt from Top Gun, and a young Joaquin Phoenix who went by Leaf Phoenix in those days.
The movie had Academy award-winning cinematographers and even landed legendary composer John Williams to create the score.
Space Camp was kind of like a “Goonies in space” movie. They also intended it to drive more interest in science and the…
