Desperate DVD industry calls upon memes to save physical media
What’s the name of that classic movie, the one where the giant shark harasses a coastal town in Massachusetts? Ah yes, that’s right: We’re Gonna Need A Bigger Boat. And what’s the one where Al Pacino is a gangster with a weird accent? Yup, it’s Say Hello To My Little Friend. Well, at least that’s what it appeared those movies were called when comedian Paul Scheer took a trip to his local Target yesterday.
As is clear in the photo, Target is marketing these Blu-rays as “Classic Quote Packaging only at [Target]”, as though these covers were some kind of desirable collectable feature that didn’t make it look like the film came from a $3.99 bin at the gas station.
There’s plenty that’s bad and dumb about these covers. For one thing, as Scheer points out, they make it look like the quote is the title of the movie, since that’s what’s written in giant text where you’d expect to see a title. (Notably, this has become a problem for some actual movie posters as well. Just looking at this poster for Seth Rogen’s latest movie at a brief glance, would you say it’s called Long Shot, or Feel Something Different? It’s equally hard to discern the title of Rebel Wilson’s latest film.)
For another thing, all these movies, even fucking Fletch, have actual, much better posters that surely any movie fan would rather have on their shelf than this garbage. And, perhaps worst of all, as many people pointed out on Twitter, this particular aesthetic of a still image from the movie combined with the dialogue from the scene pictured written in a blaring Impact-style font makes these covers look exactly like internet memes.
Yes, it appears the DVD industry, in dire straits, has turned to memes to try to get the youth of today to purchase physical copies of movies (think of them like shiny frisbees that play Netflix), instead of just loading up Parks and Recreation yet again. This absolutely will not work, but it did give folks a chance to reimagine some more films in the, uh, Classic Quote Packing style.
Best of luck to DVDs—you’re gonna need a better marketing plan.
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