07/09/2007

Monster Film’s production Gone with the Woman [+see also:
trailer
film profile] is pouring onto 71 Norwegian screens today thanks to a well prepared marketing campaign put together by SF Norge’s theatrical distribution team, run since August 8 by Åge Hoffart.

Directed by the well-established Petter Næss (Elling), Gone with the Woman is the story of a man who, without quite knowing how, has his life invaded by a woman (Marian Saastad Ottesen). He then falls for and is subsequently abandoned by her, until she reappears again.

“The film is based on a well known book by best-selling author Erlend Loe, which sold over 200,000 copies”, explains Hoffart. The book was then adapted for the stage by Næss, who turned it into a feature, just like Elling, and with the same actor, Trond Fausa Aurvåg (The Bothersome Man [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jens Lien
interview: Jørgen Storm Rosenberg
film profile]).

“The film is targeting the 18-49 year-old men and women who can relate to the challenges of meeting the opposite sex,” explains the distribution executive, former founder of Oro Film. "The film is seen from the man’s point of view and his ‘voice’ is used in the marketing elements”.

A pivotal element for the marketing campaign was the poster artwork, a reverse of Gone with the Wind’s famous poster where Clark Gable holding Vivien Leigh is replaced by Marian Saastad Ottesen holding Trond Fausa Aurvåg in her arms. “It was a great image to communicate and the poster is out on Clear channel boards all over Norway”, continues Hoffart. Because of the eye-catching poster, SF Norge didn’t use a TV campaign but exploited the artwork to its full potential, making pocket books displayed in bookstores.

The internet was another key promotional tool. Apart from its own website, the film was promoted on YouTube, mySpace and on economic news websites such as E24. Other elements of the campaign included a cross-promotion with Mercedez-Benz, events with chefs, exporters of Norwegian fish, the usual advertising campaigns in newspapers and magazines and a cast and crew tour in Norway’s biggest cities. Tomorrow night, Næss and his US/Swedish star from the film, Peter Stormare, will be in Toronto at another special party thrown by the Norwegian Film Institute, the Norwegian ambassador in Ottawa and the sales company Svensk Filmindustri to celebrate the film’s selection as an Oscar contender and its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival.