Ideas for Promoting Farscape

[Nato]

OK, I don't know how pie-in-the-sky these ideas are, but I'll throw 'em out there just in case, starting with the most feasible one first:

1. The "FARSCAPE'S BACK" poster campaign.

The goal: Paper college campuses, office bulletin boards (or cubicle walls), and just about anywhere you can legally get away with it, with strikingly designed, intriguing posters showing off the different Farscape characters.

Except... they're seen from behind. (Not that kind of behind, mind you, although it might certainly add to the ranks of the Ben Browder fan club, from what I've heard.) For example: a shot of Crichton looking cool, weilding Winona, turning to look to the side as if ready for danger-- and above the image in big text:

CRICHTON'S BACK.

(And likewise for the others.)

The Farscape characters are so intriguingly designed that a shot of them from behind, where you can't clearly see their faces, would be even more intriguing than a full-on look at them. (At least for viewers who've never heard of the show. You could have Aeryn slinging that giant shoulder-strapped cannon of hers. Tiny Rygel, way down at the bottom of the image. D'Argo's tekkas and Qualta blade. Chiana, with her fingers crossed behind her back. Scorpius, turning to give the viewer the evil eye over his shoulder.

Photographs are probably out of the question, but after seeing Ratscape's amazing work, I don't doubt that he or a similarly talented artist could pull off really striking images of this type.

Accompanying each character-- written on their back, as it were-- could be three short words or phrases that sum up the character for people who've never seen the show before. For example, the text on Crichton's poster would read:

"ASTRONAUT.
"PHYSICIST.
"INTERGALACTIC PUNCHING BAG.

For Aeryn:

"COMMANDO.
"FIGHTER PILOT.
"MOM-TO-BE."

For D'Argo:

"WARRIOR.
"GENERAL.
"LADIES' MAN."

For Chiana:

"THIEF.
"TEMPTRESS.
"TROUBLE."

For Rygel:
"DESPOT.
"DIPLOMAT.
"EATING MACHINE."

And for Scorpy:
"BRILLIANT.
"TWISTED.
"SNAPPY DRESSER."

And at the bottom of every poster:

"The critics hailed it. The fans fought for it. And now it's back. Join John Crichton (Aeryn Sun / Ka D'Argo / Chiana / Dominar Rygel XVI / Scorpius) as Farscape, the best science-fiction show on TV, returns in 2004."

Along with a nice big:

FARSCAPE • 2004

That's the easier idea. The next one's a little more challenging-- but not impossible to pull off...

-- Nato

[Muaadeeb]

If someone can design the posters and get this rolling I will be more than willing to take poster campaign in the Omaha, Ne region.

I think it sounds like a cool idea.


Post them at colleges, give them away at local game spots, etc...

[Frag_You!]

Ah, the wonderful part of living on a college campus; you give me the posters in jpg or pdf, I can distribute on a few colleges in Northern New Jersey thanks to a few friends on other campuses as well. Just give me the goods, I'll get it out there. :)

[Nato]

2. "FARSCAPE: It'll change your life."

Imagine you've never seen Farscape. You're watching TV, and the following commercial comes on:

-----------------

(An ordinary WIFE and HUSBAND are washing and drying the dinner dishes in their kitchen when the phone rings. The husband answers.)

VOICE ON PHONE: Hi, I'm Bob, calling from Interstate Pet and Flood Insurance, Inc. Can I talk to you for a moment about your coverage needs?

(The HUSBAND gets visibly annoyed.)

HUSBAND: Like hezmana you can! Listen, you frelling piece of dren! I'm sick of you telemarketers! If you call me one more time I'm gonna shove my foot so far up your mivonks, they'll be coming out your eema!

The HUSBAND hangs up the phone decisively. The WIFE looks at him, amused.

HUSBAND: Can you believe those guys?
WIFE: Honestly, honey, sometimes you can be such a drannit.

(SMASH CUT to a black screen with the Farscape logo and the 1812 Overture Playing.)

ANNOUNCER: The critics hailed it. The fans fought for it. Now the best science-fiction show on TV is back for 2004. Farscape. It'll change your life.

(And back to the kitchen, where the HUSBAND looks confused. The www.watchfarscape.com URL runs at the bottom of the screen.)

HUSBAND: ...What's a drannit?

--------------------

Now. Wouldn't an ad like that 1) make you laugh and 2) make you wonder just what the heck this "Farscape" thing was? That's the idea behind the "It'll change your life" campaign-- ordinary people that viewers can relate to, applying lines and vocabulary from the show into everyday life.

Another example:

----------

TWO ORDINARY GUYS are playing basketball in a gym. One drives out way beyond the three-point line and prepares to shoot for the basket.

GUY #1: What are you doing?

GUY #2: I can make it.

GUY #1: Make it? From there? You seriously need to get your eyes checked.

GUY #2: (a la Crackers Don't Matter) Hey! There's nothing wrong with my eyes! My eyes are perfect! They're better than 20/20... and they're BLUE!

(Logo. Music. Yadda yadda yadda.)

(GUY #2 shoots. Swish! He scores! He strikes the John Crichton Victory Pose as his friend looks on, shaking his head in amused disbelief.)

GUY #2: HUMANS... ARE... SUUUUPERIOR!

--------------

Or...

---------------

(A female STUDENT is stuck studying in a big, crowded SCHOOL LIBRARY. All around her, it's deathly silent-- more students like her, bored and cramming for midterms. She looks at the clock. Time just seems to drag. She gets more and more bored and impatient. At last, she slams her book shut, climbs up to stand on her study table, and shouts:)

STUDENT: It's beer o'clock! WHERE'S MY RIOT?!

(Logo. Music. Yadda yadda yadda.)

(The STUDENT remains standing on the table. For a moment, there's dead silence. Then, simultaneously, the other students around her burst out cheering.)

--------------

See? And there are plenty of great ideas that could fit that mold. A husband and wife doing the whole bit with Aeryn wearing Crichton's underwear ("Is your name Calvin?") from "Rhapsody In Blue." A boyfriend apologizing to his girlfriend for not "walking a mile in her shoes" after an argument, to which she responds, "You were in my shoes... I was in your pants..." A college student arguing with his roommate, who launches into the whole Stark "my side / your side" routine... you get the picture.

If we want to lure in new viewers, we need to bring Farscape out of a fannish, cultish context and show that "regular" people can get a kick out of it just as well. Plus, these ads would be cheap and easy to film, since they use real actors and ordinary locations, and they wouldn't rely on copyrighted material. (Paying to get them on the air, of course, is a whole 'nother matter.)

So. What do you think, sirs?

-- Nato

[atlantagirl]

I like the poster idea.

The problem with commercials is that they need to be seen multiple times to make an impact -- particularly something like your concept which is intended to play on people's confusion (what did he say? what are they advertising?). The possibility of our campaign being able to afford enough commercials in any market (much less nationally) that would repeat often enough for an individual to see the same commercial numerous (at least 4 or 5) times is highly unlikely. It's a cute idea, but I don't think it's feasible with the amount of funding we are going to be able to achieve.

[SweetpeaAeryn]

I LOVE those ideas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!

Those commercials are hilarious!! Too bad my roommate is sleeping right now and I can't actually roll on the floor laughing or anything. I would, however, love beyond anything seeing these on TV!!! They're so amazing! How did you think of them? They're incredibly clever!!! :)

:rollin: :love: :joy: :thumbs: :beer: :rofl: :hug2: :hug: :boogie: :clap: :signbravo :crazydanc :thewave: :bluenana: :banana: :cloud9:

:joy: Yay!!! :joy:

[divinedaydreams]

I love the posters!

[harveywhispers]

This is fun!! Time to brainstorm! Just keep in mind, we have been told that our job now is to "hook" new eyeballs.

[padmeskywalker]

I can post posters at my college...

[kechara420]

atlantagirl makes a point about the commercials, but ... maybe we could raise enought to run one (personally, I prefer the first husband-wife idea!) in some top markets once or twice. It may not catch many people who've *never* heard of Farscape, but I think it would peak the curiosity of people who've heard of the show but never seen it or only watched a few episodes.

Unfortunately, after a year, many people are running out of funds to contribute. Hmmm ... that gives me an idea ... will have to think about it ...

[Shipscat]

Very creative ideas, Nato. I'm impressed.

I have to say I think atlantagirl's right about the commercials.

[Scaper989]

"Farscape's Back" posters are a great idea!

I love the husband & wife comercial "What's a drannit?" LOL

[queenofdenial]

Hello all.

I am new to this site, so please forgive me if these ideas have been brought up before.

I used to listen to a radio station that was all about free publicity. They had an annual contest called "Expose the X" and the goal was, obviously, to expose the station's logo all over town. It went on for a few months every year, and the logo showed up everywhere. Christmas lights, roadside signs, cardboard cutouts on water towers, etc. People streaking through baseball games (I know, we want to keep this on the up and up, but it was pretty funny!). People who owned property next to busy streets would put up signs with the station's logo for all to see. If something like this started happening on a big enough scale, attention would be drawn to it.

Another contest held by this same station was that every time a movie was filming in town, they held a contest to see who could get the logo into the movie shoot. Same with TV shows. Isn't Ben Browder about to film a movie in Dallas? Do you think he'd help get a Save Farscape poster in a shot?

Also, my thoughts after the Jay Leno stunt on Thursday is that if the news gets out that you are drawing more viewers to these shows, in order for us to see if the Scapers make it into the shot, this may gain it's own publicity. If shows like Conan O'Brien know that it does bring extra eyes, maybe it will get some free publicity.

Again, sorry if this has been brought up before, but I wanted to throw out some "free" ideas.

[Shipscat]

Free is good. :)

Welcome to the board!

[Nato]

Thanks, all, for the kind words. Yeah, the commercials might not be the most feasible of ideas. I just thought the notion was too much fun to keep to myself. (=

-- Nato

[divinedaydreams]

Originally posted by queenofdenial
Hello all.

I used to listen to a radio station that was all about free publicity. They had an annual contest called "Expose the X" and the goal was, obviously, to expose the station's logo all over town. It went on for a few months every year, and the logo showed up everywhere. Christmas lights, roadside signs, cardboard cutouts on water towers, etc. People streaking through baseball games (I know, we want to keep this on the up and up, but it was pretty funny!). People who owned property next to busy streets would put up signs with the station's logo for all to see. If something like this started happening on a big enough scale, attention would be drawn to it.



I like this idea a lot. Seems something simple like a logo could be used. People are very curious beings if they see it enough or if its striking it will stick with them. Does Farscape or somone know of something that could be used.

[mycattoldme]

Fantastic ideas Nato!! The poster one is very interesting and the husband and wife tv comm ercial is defiantely quite good! :D

[Bandana Girl]

Uhh... Does anyone like converting somwhat famous people to FS. Some High profile Scapers?

I'd like to say that Farscape is back is a great poster idea, but there are about 90 wanted posters in the Graphics forum. I'm sure it wouldn't hurt to put those up all over the colleges. (Now if only people in Toronto would help.)

[AnnieBW]

I can re-do the promo video that I made for ComiCon. It's three minutes long. If we want to submit it to various TV networks, I'd be happy to donate it.

- Annie