The document discusses the evolution of film promotion between the 1960s and 2020s. In the 1960s, posters, billboards, and newspaper articles were the main promotional methods due to limited technology. Posters often depicted gender and racial stereotypes that reflected the social norms of the time. By the 2020s, film promotion utilizes over 50 digital and print-based methods, including posters, trailers, social media campaigns, and more, to engage diverse audiences in a more inclusive society with advanced technology. The changes in promotional approaches reflect the film industry's adaptation to evolving social expectations over the past 50 years.

1. The evolution of promotional material for films between 1960s to 2020s
By Jake Whattam-Smith (Date Here)
With the film industry bringing inaround $42billionUSD yearly (as ofin 2019), this is arguably one ofthe most impactful sectors inmodern
society.Withsucha highimportance,itscrucialtheyaredistributedandpromotedtograbtheattentionofthepublic;but witheverchanging
and developing technologies, theway films are established have similarly beenrefined and altered to devise a s trong reflection oftoday.
Looking backto the past and thefilmindustry thatwas thriving inthe 1960s, a lot has changed, for better or worseas I analyse and study
the differences and similarities between these two iconic decades in the production offilms across the globe.
Introduction
Promotional material for films has always been present in many different forms across the industry, from typical posters and trailers to
billboards and standees, thesehelp purpose,characterize, and promotefilms to grabtheattentionofthe public, urging themto watch the
film and invest some time previewing it as an entertainment factor.
From an early stagewherefilm promotion was present, with thefirst everfilmposter recognisedto havescreened ‘L’Arroseur Arrose’ (June
10th 1895), older more limited options leavepromoting films to a standard amongst the1960s. Moving a few centuries ahead to the 2020s
and we start to seea more diverse lineofopportunities, as innovativetechnologies are founded,andthe internetbecomes a sensationto
the world giving a freedom ofendless alternatives in film promotion.
Withsuchvariationagainstthetwotimeperiods,Iwillanalysethefilmindustryofeachdecadeontheinfluences fromsocietiesexpectations,
types of promotional material being used, and briefhistory given justifications to these aspects throughout the written essay. Expect
differences, similarities, arguments, and a clearer understanding to changes on promotional material for films between 1960s to 2020s
within this increasingly popular industry offilm.
1960sFilm Promotion
Starting to growanddevelop a moreprofound view inthe1960s, film was becoming increasingly more popular and recognised acrossthe
globe, moresignificantly in America as Hollywood storms outtheother competition. Commonly reflecting the decadeinthetypes ofcinema
available, weobservetremendous social changes, tragedies, fun,fashion, rock’n’roll, and achievements in theworld through moving image.
With such a highdemand for more,andan ever-increasing fan base,promoting the films and building up anexcitement publicly was more
than ever needed and essentialthan before, introducing a great dealofimportanceto promotionalfilmmaterial. With little progressionin
technology and telecommunications throughouttheperiod, expectphysical sources, as suchwithposters, billboards, andnews articles,to
be the main source ofexpanding an interest -especially given that these approaches have remained effective for generations.
‘The simplest form of film promotion has remained its most effective for more than one hundred years.’ - Ian Haydn Smith (Selling
The Movie: The art of the film poster)
Commonly madefrom drawings or paintings, posters in the 1960s used very little digital use.Otherthan being madefrom artist’s mostof
the time, majority ofthe posters showedvery exoticandvibrant colour schemes, followed stereotypical gender roles in men a nd women,
showed near tono racialequality, and class was another key feature(only ever denoting people ofhigher valuebackgrounds). Alot ofthese
expectations aresetbecause ofthetimeperiodpresentandwhat hadoccurredin this decade: a lotofvibrant colours in association with
being ‘the decade offun’, generally no racial equalitybecauseblack rights was stilllooked over even though ‘civilrights movements’ and
‘marches’ had been taking place,and stereotypical gender roles followed through given women werestill commonly addressed as a male’s
counterpart during the 1960’s -usually portrayedas themotherly roletaking ontasks like cleaning, cooking, andabiding to theexpectations
of their male. It's said that‘decades and cultures canbe evinced through a cursory glance at posters from different periods’ (Ian Haydn Smith)
and big films like ‘Dr No’ is no exception to theseideals; giventheproducts and promotionalmaterials forthefilm,like with posters, showed
revealing images ofwomen, James Bond(a male) as the leading role, and commonly props likea gun orjewellery for eachgender role, these
were common features found in almostevery filmduring the1960s thatonly establisheda moremaledominatesociety andperiod in which
stereotypes and expectations amongst things were not strongly divided but fixated on certain viewpoints.
‘Dr No’ Poster (film released October 6th
, 1962

2. =
Even though I'm addressing posters more directly,as they showa clearestablishmentand embodimentoftheseideals that were set from
the assumptions made fromsociety inthe1960s,othersources, likewith billboards and newspapermarketing,demonstratealmost
identicalnotions.
2020sFilm Promotion
With innovative technologies being founded each day, a much morerecognisedand understanding society, and people using entertainment
factors likemoving image ona near daily basis, the film industry has grown and still is developing for consumers around the world.
‘I know nothing of life except through the cinema’ - Jean-Luc-Godard
Moving towards everything being accessible online through the internet and achieving maximum ease ofaccessibility in many products
across differentforms, including film, its doubtless tosay that printproducts havesignificantly dropped in effectiveness for audiences like
today.
With a much larger rangeofopportunities becauseofthings like the internetandelectronic devices becoming aneveryday companion for
people, electronic promotion has established a great deal ofimportance in every industry and company avail able. With promotionof
products leading to theinternet, digitalwebsites, adverts,apps,cookies,virtual reality, social media campaigns, and many moremethods
are establishedto help drive their product or services to audiences mucheasier, and this is no exceptionamongst the filmindustry; these
processes are commonlyusedalong withtypical approaches in film like posters, standees, newspaper advertisements, merchandise, and
radio broadcasts, which havestayed profitable for decades. In addition to both digital and print based products, many more materials
including standees, productplacement, viralmarketing,cross-promotionoforiginal book, andtours/interviews area few processes used
amongst theatres, televisionand radio,theinternet,print,and merchandise, which arethefundamentaltarget areas tocover allaudiences
of different interests, as a result ofpeoplebecoming muchmoreabruptto their ownopinions andjudgements on peoplein this era from
crisis's like‘black pride’and ‘LGBTQ+’ becoming moreaccepted across theworld. Mixing both sides to promotional material –print and
digital -remains effectiveto allgiven theolder generation haveabidedto dated techniques, while younger audiences haveadjustedto the
changes in modern day society, reflectiveofthe diversity between peoplein this era as these technologies areever evolving in day-to-day
life.

3. ‘Cinema is a reflection of its own society.’ - Shohreh Aghdashloo
With a mix of both photography and digital photo editing elements, 2020 film posters are extremely dependant on digital graphic
implementations to drawout theattention andcaptivateaudiences in their layout,design,colours, digitalexperimentations, and unique
styles.With most posters being portrait A3 or higher, it is noticeablyclear thatstereotypical roles in men and women arehighly challenged
when looking at films across the era likein the popular ‘Wonder Woman’, ‘Mulan’, ‘AQuite Place2’, and ‘Black Widow’ films wherewomen
are commonly shownchallenging theideals oftheir sexby playing leading roles in heavilyactiongenres. In addition to this, peoplein the
black ethnicity are widely recognised and accepted across the world, holding leading roles similarly to women,andarepresent muchmore
commonly in feature films. Aprime example ofthis is ‘Black Panther’ (2018) with a cast and crew full ofpeople in the black ethnicity,
presenting ideals ofblack pride and culture throughout the film in resemblance oftheir background.
‘Cinema is not justa mediumof entertainment. Yes, it should entertain,but cinemais made toconvey a message, to say something’ -Pankaj
Tripathi
Conclusion
Looking at andanalysing eachera fromthe1960s to2020s, its clear an abundanceofchanges surfacedthefilm industry on manyoccasions,
to follow and change, target and conform, engage, persuade, and establish themselves as a product, promotional material for films has
changed the way we as an audience perceive the world in many a form.
‘Art reflects society. Cinema doesn’t dictate –you portray what the society demands.’ - Sonam Kapoor
From posters, newspaper promotion, andbillboards in the 1960s, print based products haveremained self-sufficientand effective,only ever
‘existing as a way of convincing anaudience to watch a film’ through whatwas only a few methods giventhe periodandtimeofwhich the
film industry was growing slowly but surely. Move a few decades forward to the 2020s range and a strong development in evolution,
adaption,and technology sees electronics, theinternet, and a scopeofopportunities viablebecauseofchange in the world. From what was
around 3 methods to promotefilms in the1960’s nowexceeds over 50inprint,internet,merchandise,tv, and radio-based elements for the
2020s becauseofthese new advancements andopportunities built from it, key and popular processes including posters,trailers, standees,
commercials, and social media campaigns.
This makes a clear differencebetween the two decades as theapproaches tofilm promotionarenotonlyon another scalewith more than
50 methods to whatwas 3 in the 1960s, but this is reflective ofhow the filmindustry has grown overthe past 50 years too. Using only 3
processes comparedto 50 atpresentdaywould notbe efficientnor effective enough for the billions ofpeopleworldwidewho watch film
near daily, mainly becauseeverything is transferredonline,butbecausefilm is so much morerecognised andexpectedin society as it would
not reach everyonewho’s interest in comparisonto 3 products whichwas enoughduring the1960s.Making around35 billionU.S. dollars
yearly only helps emphasise the extent ofgrowth amongst the film industry compared to 50 years ago.
Its arguable that film promotion should be kept simple and to the point with such practises like posters when considering in most
circumstances thepeopleviewing thematerialare present only for a briefperiodoftime, and nowclocking over a hefty 50+ distinct types
during the 2020s,this means roughly$35 million is invested into marketing and distributionperfilm, increasing the averagecostto produce
a film up to roughly$100million. Investing so muchmoneyinto a filmyou expecta good outcome, andeven though itis notobvious in film
how effective theinvestmentoffilm marketing has been, it remains oneofthe most essential aspects to producing a moviebecauseit needs
to be promoted for potential viewers to even know itis being released,and as long as there's a smartstrategy on howit's being marketed,
the more effective and more viewers it will receive.
‘Cinema is an art form, a result of dedication of a number of people.’ -Mohanlal
All in favour of grabbing theattention ofthepublic,theway filmpromotion is both distributed, created, and presentedadheres to the
expectations set fromthecommunities across the two timeperiods.
Something that is madeso obvious in the1960s with gender stereotypes and leading roles for film acting leaves a muchmoredominant,
male prominent worldthat surrounds the assumptions made frompeople that men arestronger, more reliable,and confident/brave.
Following the assumption that women werethecomplete opposite, being much moreweaker,emotionaland fragile, this was emphasised
through the industry inalmost allposters, newspaper promotion and billboards (themainways ofpromotion) presenting these ideals to
create a senseofunison and relatability in thepublic that follows through withthetheoryofAIDAstrongly –capturing their Attention
with the objectified women, Interest with women stereotypes, Desireto seethemon the screen, andmost finally takeAction by watching
the film itself and engaging withsocieties expectations to address male prospects to others is most cases.

4. Contradicting thesecommon actions madein the 1960s,thefilmindustryin the2020s is significantly more opento the differentideals in
the public. Notonly arewomen and men treatedmuch moreequally, commonly addressing womento bemuch stronger following the
stereotypes of menin mostscenarios, butevery oneofevery nationality, gender andracialidentity is accepted becauseoftherecent
changes in the worldand peoplethat have been challenging actions like discrimination,racism, homophobia and so many more. Because
of the changes in theworldaboutdifferent audiences, thefilm industry hadto similarlyadapt the way its products distribute their sources
of entertainment,in most matters reflecting thesemovements, as such with black peopleor women inaction movies taking on leading
roles whichwould havebeendisregardedin the 1960s for example. This only elaborates morethe extentofchangeinboththe film
industry a society between the 50 years that passed, froma much moremaledominantsociety were discrimination to others remained
expected, tosomething much more accepting ofchange inothers werepeoplearetreatedequally and fairly.
Besides fromthechanges in thepeople whom controlledtheexpectations amongstthemselves, the film industry hadto also adaptwith
these ever-developing communities andtheway its products aredistributed. What was effective in the1960s becausepeople regularly
went outsideon a daily-basis onmultiple occasions to get around andvisitplaces for whateverreasons necessary,posters and billboards
were a good sourceofmarketing given theywere almost always seenduring theseactivities,but ahead inthe2020s everything has
transitioned onto onlineservices likewithshopping, work, and entertainmentfactors so pieces liketrailers and social media advertising
are essential for success,especially whenconsidering theyounger audiences whogrow upwith and liveoffelectronics. This makes it
another great conception ofhowchange inthepeopleandcommunities modernizedthefilmindustry.
‘For me, cinema’s like a language –everyone has their own form of it.’ -Lea Seydoux
Still to remain one ofthe most significant pieces offilm promotion ever usedin the industry,posters havealways playeda significantrole
in raising anawareness tothe public and spreading the word ofa newfilmhaving been presentin both the 1960s and 2020s.Made
differentlybetweenthese two iconicperiods, notonly does thegeneralportrayaland aesthetic ofthese products differ,but they convey
and infer drastic changes amidsttheperiod they weremadein; from gender roles andthedifferent races to offer, colour schemes,size,
style and habits thatcontinueto diminish oneanother,posters are completely different towhat was expectedin the past and present day.
With the sizes ofposters changing from what was usually landscape toonly ever portrait inthe2020s, thestyle has also dra stically
changed after whatseemedto bemainlypaintings anddrawings to entirely digitalphotography andediting manipulation to conform with
the changes in society onmost occasions; withsuch an advancementin technology over the50year gap, it's clear why a lotofdigitaluse
had been incorporatedintoa lot ofthedifferenttypes offilm promotion,becauseyou both have a greaterrange ofpossibilities and come
out with a much greater end product. Whatwas very brightand vibrantcolour schemes across allposters inthe1960s has becomemuch
vaguer, following darker colourschemes ofgreys and blacks mostly,possibly reflective ofthefashionsensebetween thedecades,
especially when considering that now-a-days people wear darkerclothing comparedto whatwas thedecadeof‘rock-n-roll'and ‘fun’ back
50 years ago.But amongst allthings themain difference was between the representations around gender roles anddifferent ethnicities
on film posters, changing fromwhat was very stereotypical views oneverything to a much moreaccepting andbalanced impression
towards things.
‘That’s what I like about film –it can be bizarre, classic, normal, romantic. Cinema is to me the most versatile thing.’ -Catherine Deneuve
Looking back attheway everything has evolvedbetweenthetwodecades, it's clear how much thefilm industryhas been influencedfrom
societyto createa vast range ofdistinct types ofpromotionalmaterial for films across the world. This hadn’tbeenachieved through the
fact that technology broughtmany new opportunities to theindustry and changed some aspects ondistributioncompared toin the 60s,
but instead becauseofthepeople during theseeras whom similarly developed a greaterunderstanding oftheir communities and seeked
change across the worldin the way things andpeople arereflected;not only through the publicwas this changetriggered,butkey
movements andevents that hadoccurredbetweenthese dates shaped the audienceandworld across many industry's including film.
Through many factors in film promotion hadI been able toidentify thesetransitions andstrong interpretations on theworld, somemore
than others, butit's importantto understandthat film only ever changes to suit the needs, requirements, or expectations set by the public
because theyaresoheavily reliant onthem tobe successfulagainsteveryoneelsein a non-stop battle tocome out ontop.In search of
what may beto comein the next few decades ofthefilm industry, it's impossibleto judge what may happen basedoffhow different the
1960s and 2020s arein comparison, but knowing that weas a community canalter filmdependant on our terms creates an exciting
anticipation for the futureas anything coulddeterminewhat's soonto come.

5. References'
 Tim Dirks. (2021). The History Of Film The 1960s. Available:
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 Ian Haydn Smith (2018). Selling The Movie: The Art Of The Film Poster. Google
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