Kill Bill: How it was Promoted

A film must make sure it gets the highest profit possible. This is where promotion is needed. It is designed to draw in audiences with various selling points and get them interested in the filmugh to be willing to part cash for a ticket over its competitiors. Kill Bill Vol 1. (Tarantino, 2003) utilised many promotional techniques and schemes to this end.

The first teaser posters for Kill Bill Vol. 1

The first teasers posters released for the film were designed to interest audiences, but give little information to create a sense of mystery regarding what the film is actually about. The first poster on the left has distinct visual cues of the eastern world, featuring a Japanese Katana sword and Japanese symbols predominately. The title is barely emphasised at all, being upstaged by the tagline at the top saying 'Here Comes The Bride'. The second poster is far simpler, featuring a yellow and black background with a blood stain to the right. This time the title is emphasised alot more and is given a rough release window of 'Autumn 2003'.

 Both posters and the subsequent trailers advertise that this as 'The 4th film by Quentin Tarantino'. This is the films unique selling point, or USP. It would help to attract audiences attention, as the fact that his name is mentioned and emphasised on the poster would imply tha he is important, but also the fans of his earlier work.

These posters were seen closer to the film's release.

The later posters leading up to the films release relied heavily upon the star power of leading atress Uma Thurman to attract audiences. They still used the yellow and black stylings and featured the fact that it was Quentin Tarantino's 4th film. Some posters, such as the one above to the right, feature his name more than once; not only stating that this is his 4th film, but also that he had written and directed the film.



The first trailer mainly focused on emphasising the various sword fights and action sequences. We are given little exposition as to what the story is. The second trailer reveals more about the plot of the film. This would have helped to market the film as it would have created mystery to the film, and kept people interested.



It appears the film was marketed through the trailers as more action heavy than it actually is, this was most likely because it is safer to market an action movie as the genre appeals to a mainstream audience.

The whilst the first and second volumes were released apart, they were marketed together in trailers. The second film even credits the stars of Volume 1, and continues on from where Vol 1 left off with 'chapter 9'. All of this leads to the fact that Kill Bill should be regarded as one film. This marketing decision has lead to criticism, as some think that it is an attempt by Miramax to sell two tickets to one movie.