Dominique Buffaloe
February 27, 2019
Topics in Graphic Design Â
Assignment # 3 – The Greatest Movie Ever Sold
Five new words / terminology that I learned from “The Greatest Movie Ever Sold” by Morgan Spurlock was brand collateral, brand personality, faction, brand x (exclusive concept for the documentary), and quid pro quo. Brand Collateral refers to the representation of the company’s brand, what brand has to offer and what makes it appealing to investors, shareholders, and the general public.
Brand personality refers to the primary traits of the company’s brand. This can help establish an emotional connection for the brand when an individual engages with it through advertisements. For example, Morgan Spurlock’s brand had two distinct but complementary sides. His brand personality was mindful and playful. Solely based on that information, Morgan was given a list of well-known brands that would merge best with his own ambitions such as: Nintendo’s Wii, Apple, JetBlue, Target, and Mini Coopers.
Faction, according to Rick Kurnit who is an attorney for Frankfur Kurnit Klei & Selz PC, is a combination of information through media (movies, documentaries, etc) mixed with speculations of fiction. Rick provides a perfect example in the film, saying: “you as a director really has an obligation to indicate to the audience what is the historical fact and what is the speculation in a typical work of faction.” Brand X is an exclusive term conceived for this movie. The movie’s main introduction starts with Pom Wonderful presents, which was paid for by Pom for a million dollars. There is a chance that Morgan Spurlock deliberately planned this with the intention of selling the name to the highest sponsor.
After Morgan managed to gain some sponsors for his independent documentary. Many of these wanted what was called a Quid Pro Quo. Quid Pro Quo refers to a favor or advantage granted with something expected in return. Morgan Spurlock used their brand in his film, and in return, the company owns a piece of film with direct association to his name and image of Morgan Spurlock. In regard to my own personal brand. I would say my brand personality is defined by these specific traits: artistic, creative, conceptual, playful, and imaginative. The four brands that would best represent and merge with my own personal branding would be Wacom, Adobe, Prismacolor, and Copic. Furthermore, as a creative professional who is currently developing her brand, Morgan Spurlock’s main message immensely motivated me. The main idea he was trying to deliver in this film was if you have a dream – work hard and just do it despite all of your failures. Throughout the film, he was either rejected or had to jump through multiple hoops to ensure the success of his film. No one ever said it was going to be easy, but with hard work and knowing the right people at the right time. Anything is possible as long as you do not give up on yourself and your ambitions.
Although Morgan Spurlock had previous work and past friends to support his credibility. One of the most important aspects that led to his success in gaining these sponsors was his marketing and presentation skills. In each interview, Morgan Spurlock confidently went in, knowing properly how to sell-out and buy-in. Deliberately saying the right words to each sponsor, due to his research and preparation in order to understand the company’s brand and its intended message.
In my opinion, the term “sell-out” means to promote a product to a specific and desired audience. You are literally selling the service and/or product to the public online or in public as well as the message and meaning represented by the company and its brand.
The term “Buy-In,” in my opinion, refers to a company that wants to buy or own a portion of the rights to your concept. It is a collaboration with the proper legal regulations and procedures ensured for both parties. Furthermore, three additional things that I learned from “The Greatest Movie Ever Sold” was how to handle rejection even more; the amount of money corporations and agencies are willing to spend on advertisements, and how lucrative the advertising industry can be for creative professionals who are responsible and held accountable for designing these advertisements. Shameless self-promotion refers to promoting yourself as an individual or your idea and trying to get some sort of reward through your promotion.
