You may know that the Motion Picture Association of America is responsible for the motion picture rating system that parents use to make sure content is age appropriate. Most of us don’t know that they are also responsible for making sure that marketing material that is used to promote the movies is age appropriate as well. What’s the sense of taking a child to a G rated movie about horses, if the previews are going to be about passionate lovemaking?
The Motion Picture Association of America reviews the marketing material that’s used to promote every film that is rated by the Classification and Rating Administration. This is over 60,000 different pieces of marketing every year. Some of the promotional material included is print ads, radio and TV spots, billboards, press kits, bus shelters, posters, and trailers.
Their goal is to make sure all of the material is appropriate for whatever audience views it. They intend to allow filmmakers to reach their target markets with these while making sure parents have piece of mind. If a parent takes a child to a PG rated movie, then the MPAA makes sure that all the trailers are suitable for that audience. They are not going to have a preview for Chain Saw Massacre in Shrek.
This has an effect on the film industry as a whole. Filmmakers have to be careful and specific in their marketing techniques. If the movie trailer, billboard, or marketing item isn’t acceptable for the venue they are trying to present it, then the time that they put into it will be lost. Even some websites for movies are restricted. In a way, it can be useful. By the MPAA not allowing them to present R rated previews in G rated movies, it helps them to pinpoint their target audience. Once the MPAA decides that the ad is acceptable, then filmmakers can reach their potential viewers with the marketing item.
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