Slumdog Millionaire - Marketing, Promotion & Distribution

The marketing and promotion of a film is by far one of the most important things to ensure the success of a film as a good marketing campaign can really boost audience awareness and buzz for the movie, the trailer and posters being the main aspects of this as they can convey the genre,plot and characters very quickly as well as the generic conventions so the audience have an idea of what to expect from the film, although in some cases they can be misleading and give the audience the wrong impressions of a film. As Slumdog Millionaire has different distributors for the countries it was shown in this means it also has different posters that give off very different ideas about that film and its themes and story. The American distributors were Fox Searchlight and Warner Brothers while in the UK it was distributed by Pathe.

The American poster has obvious conventions of the romantic genre with the young heterosexual couple which is almost always the norm in romantic dramas. Both characters are facing away from each other connoting a barrier between them, something that is stopping them from being together, the image of Latika running reinforces this and connotes a sense of urgency for them to find each other. The way Latika is lit with high key lighting from above makes giving her an almost angelic look, this ties into one of the movies themes displaying that Latika is someone to be desired and wanted. The main theme of destiny is also presented on this poster with the tagline 'what does it take to find lost love?' set out in the who wants to be a millionaire question format and the lst answer being 'Destiny', this also brings up the idea of perseverance and how far will Jamal go for love. The use of screen shots from the film rather than a set up shot on a plain background (which is often the norm for movie posters) gives the film a realistic, indie vibe.

The indie element of the poster is also shown in the fact that there are no star names referenced on the poster, this is partly because there are no actual big stars in the film (which makes it more realistic and believable) but it also lets the film stand alone and not be weighed down or given any unwanted preconceptions by a big name. The only reference to a star is Danny Boyle's name who is synonymous for gritty, darker, indie type films like Trainspotting and 28 Days Later.

Meanwhile the UK poster presents a much more brighter and positive image of the movie, with its bold vibrant copy standing out on a white background with a staged photo. The bright, bold copy and facial expressions of the characters connote a sense of hope and happiness an overall feeling that this film has a happy ending, reinforced by the bold orange copy 'the feel good film of the decade' by The News of The World, a then large and influential company that could be considered an opinion leader meaning that its opinion on the film would mean a lot to an audience and could result in many more people watching it just because of what they have to say about it.