Allan Freeman credited with created the standard for movie marketing has passed away earlier this month. The Hollywood Reporter gathered information about Freeman’s life and the impact he had on the movie industry.
On December 24, 1978 Freeman told The New York Times, “The reason we test all our (movie) titles is that if the title does present a communications problem, we’d like to know what it is even if we don’t intend to change it. We need to know what to do with our advertising to counteract it.” He helped the movie promotional industry develop the strategies used. He emphasized the importance of movie titles and how someone should be able to understand the gist of a movie based on the title alone.
Some of the movies he marketed for include, Dances with Wolves, The Silence of the Lambs, The Shining, Star Wars and many others. He conducted research to see how promotions for films impacted consumers. Freeman eventually went on to work for Twentieth Century Fox, Warner Bros and United Artists.
On June 7, Freeman passed away at the age of 88. He is survived by his wife Barbara and his children Joanne, Richard and Marc. Allan Freeman was a pioneer and completely changed the way movies are marketed. He helped so many artists and companies. Our condolences go out to the Freeman family.
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