Today, AMC Theatres unveiled a more than $25 million national advertising campaign across the U.S., an effort the company is calling “historic” and “unprecedented.” The campaign – the core of which is a series of 60, 30, and 15-second commercials featuring Nicole Kidman – launches online and on social media platforms today and will be shown at nearly 600 U.S. theaters later this month. Beginning this Sunday (September 12), campaign content will play across “multiple high-profile platforms” across the globe, with an emphasis on network television in the U.S.
The campaign’s slogan is “AMC Theatres. We Make Movies Better.” According to a press release, it is “the first such multi-media campaign in AMC’s 101-year history and believed to be the first of its kind ever in the history of U.S. cinema.” The spots featuring Kidman were directed by Jeff Cronenweth and Tim Cronenweth – the former of whom is a two-time Oscar-nominated cinematographer (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Social Network) – and written by Oscar-nominated screenwriter Billy Ray. The spots were all filmed on location at one of AMC’s newest theaters, AMC Porter Ranch 9 in the Los Angeles region.
Barkley, AMC’s lead agency, spearheaded every aspect of the campaign for the exhibitor, from concept to production.
“As we have said repeatedly of late, thanks to the billions of dollars we have raised this year, AMC is strong, and it is time for AMC to play on offense again,” said AMC Theatres chairman and CEO Adam Aron in a statement. He continues by noting that movie theaters have survived other threats to their business over the course of their history, but that the “uncharted waters” of the pandemic era represent a new, unprecedented challenge.
“Especially in recent years, AMC and other theatre chains have introduced sophisticated marketing programs to ensure our theatres are relevant,” Aron continued. “However, relying on ‘what’s always worked before,’ cinema operators have counted on others to undertake significant television advertising campaigns to drive audiences into our buildings. …We believe it is high time for an industry leader like AMC to go on television to remind today’s audiences of the magic that can only be found in a movie theatre and at AMC, with our big seats, our big sound and our big screens.”
Aron added, “No one says it better than Nicole Kidman when she points out how special it is to see ‘dazzling images on a huge silver screen.’ We are ever so grateful that Nicole brought her astonishing talent to AMC. We are also appreciative to the Cronenweths for the beautiful direction and cinematography they brought to this project. Similarly, our hat is off to Billy Ray, whose scripts perfectly capture the allure and appeal of watching movies where they were meant to be seen, at a theatre.”
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