OUR BRAND IS CRISIS movie review

This Sandra Bullock-Billy Bob Thornton movie is not just appropriate for the ongoing political campaign period in the Philippines but it teaches us some lessons in marketing, advertising and PR. This movie opens January 13, and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures (Philippines).

Political strategist, Jane Bodine (Sandra Bullock), gets back in the electoral race to campaign to regain public trust in the Bolivian presidential candidate. Learning to compete with a familiar person from another election, Pat Candy (Billy Bob Thornton), and "Calamity Jane" gets the fire going -- it's what they call her for laying down the winning campaign for her client.

As I've said, it's not just a task of winning an election, but we can see different aspects of marketing a brand and all other propaganda that might go with it; matching with a humorous approach that gives a satirical perspective in the political setting. The title already suggests that the discussion is about marketing a brand.

I admire Sandra's character in developing the message on creating a likable image for her brand (the candidate) and how she goes around with it. For me, it would be very difficult to think like her without knowing all the backgrounds and shits of the client and all the people that move around him. It is, for a campaign manager, necessary to be knowledgeable of many things and be able to weave in these information to the character of the client that you want to achieve.

There are three kinds of people of the real world that you will see in OUR BRAND IS CRISIS: Jane Bodine, the skeptical but able to manage the task even if she doesn't like who she is doing it for because she is paid. Pat Candy, on the other hand, would be the person who doesn't believe in you and will bury you all the horror of the past trying to consume you and win you over. Your task is to compete with you until you fall again. And the candidate, that will sometimes believe and oppose you because he/she hired you (of course, that's not the case every time, right?). This brand will give you promises and wins your trust but you will never know what the real deal may be when he already won your heart.

OUR BRAND IS CRISIS exposes the relation of the client and the agencies pitching for an idea to gain public trust. It's a very good case study to discuss among advertising and PR schools.

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