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[The Smiler] Marketing discussion

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Pixie-Ro said:
I have to say I agree with TheMan. I think it makes perfect sense for Dr K to be there. For those of us who know who he is it will be a brilliant addition, and for those who aren't aware of him, it will just be a creepy character who is going to make sure everyone gets corrected! Win-win all round.

In my opinion he should be somewhere near dispatch sending us off for our appointment with the marmaliser! I would love for Dr K himself to send me off for correction! ;D
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CORRECT ME DR K!!!!

If they are thinking about not using him, I've spoken to lots of people now who want him there, far more than voicing a wish for him not to be.

I hope Alton Towers are reading it, or have plans to use him, otherwise it is time to begin a petition.

I will set up a picket line at the entrance, I will REFUSE to be marmalised unless it is on the orders of Dr Kelman!

(I probably wont, but I will pen a strongly worded email)
 
Get. A. Life.

I jest, and hope that isn't taken too seriously. It'd be lovely to see Dr Kelman, but I'd imagine we'll just see something a tad simpler for television seeing as The Swarm's rather thematic adverts failed to pull in the punters.
 
I've just read through the last 5 or 6 pages of discussion and I'm not too sure where to begin.

First of all, suggesting that The Smiler broke on purpose for the press event is just silly. It 100% broke, and it was indeed a rather serious problem.

In terms of Dr Kelman. He is a great character. However he is more related to the past of the MOJ rather than the present. He is a doctor in The Sanctuary, and was put in charge of this facility. The MOJ have conceived The Smiler and Miles Cedars has been chosen to be in control by the sounds of it. Dr Kelman should not and will not feature heavily in The Smiler.

Remember; The Smiler was thought up before The Sanctuary. And both attractions were thought up and brought to life by different teams within Towers/Merlin. There are links, but people must stop seeing them as almost the same thing. The Sanctuary is context for The Smiler, as is Dr Kelman.

:)
 
Re: adverts

I think the big marketing push will be saved for late June now. They missed season opening and the Easter holidays so the next big surge of guests will be the summer holidays and the school trip period. It's better to spend your budget when people can come rather than risk doing it all now and people forgetting further down the line.
 
I'd put a bet on with you but my track record shows I'm usually wrong on these things ;)
 
Dr Kelman is already an integral part of The Sanctuary, though - given that, unlike Sanctuary, there's no way he can be around The Smiler most of the time (especially because there's only 1 Kelman actor...who is free to like, work somewhere other than Towers if they left the job).

Smiler needs to have its own identity and, if indeed they did want to have a central character (which they may well not - the MOJ is a big cold corporate organisation after all), I don't think it'd be sensible to take the already main character of another attraction, especially as he's played very much a secondary rôle in all the ride's marketing thusfar.

That's not to say he won't be out playing the crowds on opening day for a bit of fun, and obviously we know he's fleetingly mentioned on the Marmaliser, but that'll be about it.

I'd wager most of his inclusion in marketing is just a little elbow and wink to the geeks :)
 
GAGrathea said:
there's only 1 Kelman actor...
Click to expand...

During my two run throughs of The Sanctuary, on the same day, within an hour of each other, Dr Kelman changed actor to a different man. I am aware that when people on here refer to 'Dr K' they mean the one we have grown accustomed to, however it doesn't and shouldn't mean that if (and it's a big if) Dr Kelman indeed does have a role in The Smiler, that it can't be played by this second actor, and/or a new actor. Look at Sir Edward England - That's firmly and obviously one character, played by a plethora of actors, yet it remains perfectly clear that the character hasn't changed, and is the same persona as ever.
 
Ok so DR K might be about when the ride opens, who knows, we don't know, can we just wait and see? The same goes for the ride story. I am all for debate but by the looks of it some real marketing has just occurred on Channel 4?? :eek:
 
Seems like a random time and channel to first air the advert...8.40 in the morning on a channel that has no breakfast programming as such :/
 
OK.

So inside we've got a tunnel type thing that makes it appear it's not moving from the looks of things.

Nice bit of giggler gas, some nice shots of a crow and smiler lollipops over the Towers.

Some nice shots of an insane roller coaster and well, a tiny bit of psychotic hypnotiser 'join the smiler' type stuff.

Marmaliser looks really good.
 
Well thats certainly not what I was expecting! I was hoping for something along the lines of Oblivion's advert.

As it stands I dont think its very effective.
 
I think it is quite effective - lots of ride shots. The scary voice of the rider is a bit weak though and actually made me chuckle. ;)
 
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