Recently I asked myself two questions. One, why is everyone suddenly so obsessed with Twilight, and two, who (/what) is ‘R-Pattz’!? I know all you Twilight/Pattz fans are shaking your heads and ‘tut-tutting’ at me, but there must be some who share my bewilderment as to where this came from.
Having discussed the issue with friends over the past week, I had mixed responses. Some shared my confusion whilst others confessed their undying love for the main character, Edward Cullen (A.K.A. R-Pattz, formerly known as Robert Pattinson). His presence alone sells the films to them. One friend in particular, who chose to remain anonymous said, “He is the most beautiful thing since Jude Law and I would like to have my wicked way with him”. There is no question; women everywhere are weak at the knees for Mr Pattz. Personally, my knees are stable. Ever since Prison Break Wentworth has always been my Mr Big, regardless of homosexual rumours and recent weight gain.
So perhaps that is what sells it to girls within my age bracket (20-25), but what about the rest? Twi-mad fans range from as young as age 11 to the ripe old age of 80. Essentially, Twilight is about ‘a teenage girl [who] risks everything when she falls in love with a vampire’. My thoughts exactly. So how has Twilight become such an overnight phenomenon? Did they have a carefully constructed, rigorous marketing strategy or is ‘Twilight-mania’ merely the result of a series of well-written, gripping novels? Is the success down to the actor who is simultaneously playing Edward Cullen and winning the hearts of women from Brick Lane to Fifth Avenue?
The creator of yet another of the hundreds of Twilight fan blogs, TwilightLexicon.com, Lori Joffs states that “teens identify with Bella [Cullen’s love-interest, played by Kristen Stewart] in fantasizing about their first love”. She also points out that older women find this innocent portrayal of love a form of escapism, allowing them to recollect “those first twitches of falling in love and reliving it through Bella”. Consequently, Stephanie Meyer’s series of novels appeal to women of all ages. Summit Entertainment – the production company for the films - realised this and devised an advertising strategy to secure the male audience. They did so by producing an advert in which the bad vampires fought the good ones, gaining airplay on channels such as ESPN, in order to reach their target audience; ‘the Lads’.
I was surprised to discover that Summit Entertainment is a much smaller company than those that usually churn out the Hollywood Blockbusters, such as Warner Brothers. It may be argued that Summit actually had the upper hand in having a low budget, as it forced them to utilise social media such as the likes of Twitter and Facebook, which are increasingly influential as a means of marketing, specifically considering the main audience of Twilight are teenage girls. The adverts placed on MySpace alone have been viewed over four million times. However, due to the volume of obsessed fans, much of the marketing taken out of Summit’s hands and spread through word of mouth. Fans produced online user generated content through the likes of YouTube videos, Facebook groups etc., which created the hype that surrounds the films. Twilight-mania has transfixed audiences to such an extent that the next movie could almost go without official advertising and still be a smash-hit.
There are hundreds of fan-created blogs devoted to the films, such as Twitarded.blogspot.com and TwilightMoms.com. One company has even secured a partnership with Summit Entertainment allowing fans to design and sell Twilight merchandise. The site, http://shop.cafepress.com/twilight has more than a staggering 6,000 designs for sale. Books are even in the process of being written about Twilight madness, such as Bitten by Twilight: Youth Culture, Media and the Vampire Franchise by Jennifer Stevens Aubrey.
I was adamant that I would not be sucked into the Twilight vortex that everyone has seemingly been abducted by, until I was stuck in traffic and noticed a bumper sticker on the Volvo in front of me, informing me ‘Warning: Driver may be reading Twilight’. This was the final straw; I had to find out for myself. To my surprise, I hesitate to admit that it is Chapter 2 and I am already hooked…
Christy Thatcher, 22, London
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