Made In Hollywood-Chapter 918: Black Friday

With the completion of post-production work, the film officially entered the final sprint stage of its publicity and marketing campaign. As in the past, Duke once again stepped into the spotlight.

To thank the actors for their hard work, Duke specially posted on Instant Share and Twitter a letter of appreciation written by the entire production team to the cast. The letter was filled with lavish praise for the actors’ performances. However, the most crucial line read: "From the deserts of Abu Dhabi to the forests of Iceland, and the studios of Ireland, every single one of you completed the shoot perfectly each time, proving yourselves to be the most talented actors."

At the same time, Lucasfilm and Warner Bros. released the first official trailer, which immediately set off a massive storm.

The focus of attention, of course, was on the new adorable droid BB-8 and Daniel Wu, who received a dramatic close-up while raising a lightsaber.

All the Star Wars fans lost their composure. They mainly did two things: first, they frantically searched for any BB-8-related merchandise but found nothing; second, they furiously criticized the scene of Daniel Wu wielding a lightsaber as a Jedi Knight...

This was different from Samuel L. Jackson’s role as Mace Windu—after all, that was just a supporting character, while Daniel Wu’s character was the male lead!

Controversy was inevitable, and it quickly spread across the internet, creating enormous buzz. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

This was precisely what Duke and the production team wanted to see. Daniel Wu’s character was, of course, not a Jedi Knight—the trailer had been deliberately edited that way for one purpose: to generate discussion and controversy.

Controversy and buzz form the foundation of any successful publicity campaign. Without controversy, marketing would be dull and lifeless.

And this was only part of the marketing strategy. As Thanksgiving approached, nearly all of North America had been taken over by Star Wars-related content.

Lucasfilm announced that BB-8 and other merchandise from Star Wars: The Force Awakens would officially go on sale on "Black Friday," the uniquely American online shopping day. Countless Star Wars fans were eagerly waiting.

The pre-release buildup for The Force Awakens was exceptionally long. Excluding the early "slow heating" stage, even the intensive marketing phase could be traced back to that summer. Although the campaign used slogans like "tribute" and "nostalgia," the real target audience—the wallets to be conquered—were not the veteran fans who had supported Star Wars since 1977, but the younger generation of moviegoers who only had vague impressions of the earlier films and were now in their impulsive stage of consumerism and trend-chasing.

Since the main audience was the new generation, a "fresh taste" was essential—new character settings, dazzling and modern visual designs. These helped younger audiences develop a stronger "desire to consume." Meanwhile, the half-nostalgic, half-tribute moments in the film gave these "new Star Wars fans" a sense of pride and satisfaction—of being "more in the know" than their peers. Once that feeling spread among social circles, it easily created a ripple effect that fueled even more consumer enthusiasm.

The truth behind The Force Awakens’ marketing strategy was this: while cloaked in the guise of "nostalgia" and "tribute," its real goal was to build a new era Star Wars market. That’s why Duke went all-out during the "pre-release acceleration phase," using promotional methods that were intentionally designed to provoke debate worldwide.

The box office and merchandise spending from old Star Wars fans were "rigid demands"—guaranteed income. But the new generation of audiences thrived on what seemed "superficial" or "sensational." Controversy was bound to trigger more discussion, and discussion meant more traffic—an efficient way to generate massive revenue with minimal cost.

Of course, the question remained: how could a film without A-list stars, without "shipping" or comedic gimmicks, attract today’s unpredictable audience base—especially teenagers who had grown indifferent to the Star Wars brand?

Aside from creating buzz, there was one more solution before audiences even saw the film—riding the wave of mobile and internet technology.

Lucasfilm collaborated with Google to launch a Star Wars-themed campaign. Users could install Star Wars themes on the Chrome browser, and hidden Easter eggs appeared across tools like Maps and Translate. Even pausing a video on Instant Share triggered a lightsaber sound effect.

But these were just the most basic promotional tricks. Google also launched "Lightsaber Escape," a browser-based mini-game linking computers and smartphones through web interaction.

The official Star Wars website updated its Star Wars app, featuring local weather updates, GIF stickers, sound effects, and even AR mini-games that projected R2-D2 and other Star Wars elements into the user’s surroundings—achieving remarkable engagement.

While leveraging online marketing, Warner Bros. and Lucasfilm didn’t neglect offline promotion either.

By late November, the second teaser trailer was released and garnered over 138 million views within 24 hours—setting a new record for trailer viewership.

In mid-November, Air France joined the promotional campaign for The Force Awakens. Since the movie would premiere simultaneously across most of Europe, the airline offered a special "fly-to-the-theater" package featuring planes decorated with Star Wars logos.

In Asian countries where the Star Wars fanbase was relatively weaker, Warner Bros. and Lucasfilm were willing to defy purist fans and cater to the mass market by partnering with teen idols as promotional ambassadors. For the studios, these young celebrities—who had no direct connection to Star Wars—were nonetheless the most effective way to draw younger audiences to theaters.

In the United States, Duke not only held special advance screenings for military families but also arranged for Star Wars stormtroopers to appear at White House press briefings. Even during a Democratic presidential debate, Hillary Clinton ended her speech with one of Star Wars’ most iconic lines: "May the Force be with you."

With the collaboration between the studios and the public, The Force Awakens sparked an unprecedented wave of viewing and discussion.

"BB-8 is the brand-new droid that will appear in the yet-to-be-released seventh Star Wars film, The Force Awakens. It will play an important role and occasionally act adorably clumsy. Its design was first revealed at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con. Unlike its predecessor R2-D2’s cylindrical form, BB-8’s body is a sphere, allowing it to roll smoothly across the ground with remarkable agility, giving it a distinctly futuristic look."

The day after Thanksgiving is the North American online shopping event "Black Friday." On numerous e-commerce websites led by Amazon, such product descriptions appeared, and the new-generation cuteness icon BB-8 officially went on sale.

This BB-8 toy is far from just an empty shell. Although much smaller than its movie counterpart and small enough to fit in one’s hand, it is a real robot. BB-8 can recognize its "owner’s" voice and respond accordingly. Most notably, BB-8 comes with an "adaptive personality" feature — the more you interact with it, the more its "personality" adapts to that of its "owner."

At the same time, this little sphere is equipped with a Bluetooth communication module, allowing the "owner" to control it via a mobile app and make it roll around freely.

Of course, one can also activate "automatic mode," set a path for BB-8, and simply sit back to watch it roll around.

The BB-8 toy’s remote control range can reach up to 30 meters, and its battery can last for about one hour. In addition, it has a "holographic image" transmission function that can record and view "holographic images," enabling users to shoot a video on their phone and project it through BB-8.

Naturally, BB-8 sold like crazy across North America. Priced officially at $150, the toy became one of the hottest items on "Black Friday." Within just 24 hours, over 1.7 million units were sold.

Likewise, Duke and Lucasfilm also prepared a life-size, one-to-one scale BB-8 for Star Wars fans willing to spend lavishly. Despite its nearly $5,000 price tag, over 120,000 units were sold on "Black Friday."

Riding on the "Black Friday" shopping frenzy, Lucasfilm released the third teaser trailer, while Duke’s online promoters flooded the internet with numerous rumors and speculations. Since the production crew’s confidentiality work was extremely strict, those "leaked" plot guesses — whether true or false — sparked even greater attention.

"Star Wars 7 will center on two new characters. According to insiders, the film will begin with a severed hand falling from the sky, holding a lightsaber. Then, the protagonists Daisy Ridley and Daniel Wu discover this hand and the lightsaber."

"They find that this lightsaber is a relic of the Jedi, so they decide to find the Jedi and return it."

"During their journey to find the Jedi, they encounter Han Solo and the Wookiee Chewbacca. Han Solo says that he hasn’t seen his old friend for thirty years, so the three of them, along with the Wookiee, embark on a journey to find the Jedi Master."

"Meanwhile, on a frozen planet, a group of evil forces is constructing a weapon even more terrifying than the ’Death Star.’ Their goal is not to destroy a single planet — but to annihilate the entire galaxy..."

The "leaked" storylines contained both truth and fiction, yet perfectly catered to the fans’ and audience’s curiosity.

As the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens drew nearer, not only Warner Bros. and Lucasfilm were putting in full effort — countless brands, after paying substantial sponsorship fees, also obtained related licenses and launched all kinds of Star Wars-themed promotions. These events not only allowed them to profit from the Star Wars craze but also further promoted the film.

With Star Wars: The Force Awakens generating such overwhelming heat, numerous brands eagerly seized the rare opportunity, using every possible method to gain publicity for themselves.

It is no exaggeration to say that Star Wars had completely taken over all of North America.

...

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