“May The Force Be With You.”
It seems like just a simple line from STAR WARS, but it is so much more. It single handedly sums up the brand of Lucasfilm Ltd and proves that George Lucas is a force himself.
As stated in the previous blog post, Lucasfilm Ltd has many divisions including: Industrial Light & Magic, Skywalker Sound, LucasArts, Lucas Licensing, Lucas Animation, Lucas Online, and Lucasfilm Singapore. These companies not only create their own individual products from websites to cinematic special effects, but also make up the brand of Lucasfilm itself.
The logo for Lucasfilm says a lot about the company. The name represents its founder George Lucas and the decades of hard work and accomplishments his company has seen. It is clean, futuristic, and yet simple. It is seen in all different colors throughout the website, but most of the time in the credits of movies it is seen in a shade of green. The word Lucasfilm is positioned in an arch over “Ltd” and includes some scientific detail that one might find inside a droid. The arch of Lucasfilm could be to represent the many divisions that fall under the main umbrella of Lucasfilm.
How is Lucasfilm the Jedi Master of brands? Well, Lucasfilm is unique, authentic, and talkable beyond comparison.
First of all – there has never been another STAR WARS. It stands alone as a powerhouse in movie sales, merchandise, and fan followers. Now someone might ask, “But Lacey isn’t STAR WARS just one of the films Lucasfilm has worked on?” Yes, it is, but STAR WARS is a constant theme seen throughout the companies website and has working into branding the company itself. From the Yoda that is seen on the main page to the “Join The Force” text on the employment page, it is clear that STAR WARS is an important part of Lucasfilm’s past, present, and future.
 |
| Director James Cameron (left) and George Lucas (right) |
Lucasfilm has inspired many generations to get into film and start companies. With the help of films like STAR WARS, people have left the theater and joined the force. Don’t believe me? Go ask Oscar-winning Director James Cameron. He had dreams of making movies, but it wasn’t until he saw STAR WARS that he stopped smoking pot and being a truck driver that he became determined to succeed. “From the moment he walked out of the theater, he was obsessed. This was the kind of movie he has always wanted to make,” (Rose 50).
Lucasfilm succeeded because it created a product that people could believe and fall in love with. It is an "immaculate reality - entirely imaginary, and yet with such a level of detail as to feel instantly familiar," (Rose 72). STAR WARS has characters, plots, and special effects that pull people out of their seats and into the action. STAR WARS is a “media mix.” It has the ability to “be told through several different media at once,” (Rose 41). This transition to different media is what allowed for STAR WARS to gain such popularity over the years. Unlike other companies that have fought fan involvement with websites and fan fiction, George Lucas and Lucasfilm have embraced it. There have been thousands of fan sites created by those who can never get enough STAR WARS. What the fans don't realize is that not only are they helping the brand, but in a sense they're owning it too.
Quoted Texts: The Art of Immersion by Frank Rose
Lacey, even though I didn't appreciate Star Wars until I was about 15 (my only childhood memory of the movies was Ewoks showing up in my nightmares - I was convinced they were NOT cuddly and cute but they WERE living in my backyard), I respect your love for the brand. Star Wars has infiltrated pop culture to an extent that everyone can identify certain aspects of it (characters, music, those "Long Ago" graphics) even if they're not fans. Not many franchises - even wildly successful ones that break records at the box office - have this effect almost 35 years after they were introduced to the world.
ReplyDeleteHey Kylene - yeah you have to watch out for those Ewoks, they'll get you! (Just kidding.) I have to agree that I don't think that many franchises can measure up to what STAR WARS has created for itself. However, it was not until they re-released the STAR WARS movies that their popularity got to where they are now.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting that LucasFilms made Stars Wars a brand within a brand, so-to-speak. Certain sound-effects, terminologies/phrases, and even wardrobe/hairstyles are associated specifically and only with the Star Wars culture. There's either two people I think of when I hear Frank Oz's voice: Grover, or Yoda.
ReplyDeleteHave you ever assaulted someone for bringing up captain Kirk in a Star Wars conversation?
ReplyDeleteAvery - Great point - I think STAR WARS isn't just a brand anymore, but rather a culture.
ReplyDeleteT.White - I don't think I have ever brought up Star Trek - it doesn't even compare to STAR WARS. If anyone brought Kirk up during a STAR WARS convo I would probably just walk away. It's like comparing apples and oranges. (aka STAR WARS is MUCH MUCH better)
Die Hard Star Wars all the way! Lucas was clever in he had a product that was a fictional story done on a tiny budget and secured all of his ideas to future copyrights.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to the creation of great film making, Hollywood is not the brightest star in the galaxy.
One of the driving forces behind the continued success of the franchise is the depth of the world that Lucas created. New stories are continually being told through his other companies such as the Force Unleashed series of games from LucasArts and the animated TV series.
ReplyDeleteI can remember seeing Star Wars for the first time. As my consciousness was 'enhanced' a bit the opening scene was enough to convince me that I was witnessing something completely new even though I did see shades of 2001 A Space Odyssey in the FXs.
ReplyDeleteLucas is a master at branding and perhaps the smartest move he made was allowing others to join in the story as long as they kept to the 'script.' That way he built community instead of just a fan base. They belong and they have a role to play in the evolving story and universe of Star Wars.
The closest anyone has come to matching Lucas is Peter Jackson with LOTR. He took a large unwieldy story that many had tried to tackle and pulled it off. However, I don't believe Mr. Jackson has quite the branding hutzpah that Mr. Lucas has.
I don't even think Star Wars is a brand anymore. It's so much more to its fans. I mean, you read about people contemplating suicide after finding out that Avatar wasn't based on a real place like Pandora. Star Wars, in my mind, isn't even viewed as something thought to be fictional. While I think people understand that it is science-fiction, Star Wars is one of those things that people just relate to so easily. You don't need to be a "nerd" or whatever to enjoy it. Take its story and throw it into any modern setting. It doesn't have to take place in space and it still makes sense! Great blog.
ReplyDelete