Cynematik • Cyndi Greening

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Promotional Trading Cards for D.E.B.S. (the short film) at Sundance 2003

It was over TWO years ago that director Angela Robinson brought D.E.B.S. to Sundance as a short film. Financed in part by Power Up, the film went on to find financing as a feature with members of the “fast and furious” cast.

At Sundance 2003, Robinson and crew distributed promotional D.E.B.S. Trading Cards with the Sundance screening schedule on back. I had collected all but one card which Alec was able to secure from Robinson (in a very “celebratory” state) on a late night shuttle bus. He was only 14 at the time! Anyway, you can see them with the original cast members in this downloadable PDF.

While D.E.B.S. can certainly be called a gay-themed film, that doesn’t seem to be a problem for Disney. They’ve tapped Robinson to direct the Lindsey Lohan vehicle Herbie Fully Loaded which comes out this summer. It will be interesting to see how Robinson handles this more traditional story line.

You might notice that the short film starred Melissa Etheridge’s partner, Tammy Lynn Michaels (seen numerous times in the music video for This Moment). The tune can be found on Etheridge’s great new CD LUCKY which comes in both LIVE and studio-produced versions.

Added: 2 April 2005

I’ve found a a couple of interesting articles on how important the trading card campaign was for the marketing of the movie D.E.B.S. and director Angela Robinson.

According to MovieMaker Magazine, the marketing plan for D.E.B.S. began with the short film at Sundance 2003. “Andrea Sperling, producer of D.E.B.S. and director Angela Robinson used the short version of D.E.B.S that was initially screened at Sundance as the carrot to drive the donkey that drove the cart. Prior to the film’s premiere at the festival, Sperling sent the feature script and short to potential financiers with the hopes of announcing a deal at Sundance. In the interim, Screen Gems bit on the script and short, and combined with a poster and trading cards created by Sperling and Robinson for the main characters, gave the production company an idea of what the marketing could look like.”

There’s that word: marketing. “Everything looked so good; we really hit a home run with them with the marketing ideas. Even before our film was accepted at Sundance, we came up with a ‘total concept’ strategy to drive our goals.” While at the festival, the D.E.B.S. people passed out the trading cards on the streets of Sundance, adding to the film’s “buzz.” The gamble paid off. The story of four female spies out to thwart evildoers will be released in March by Screen Gems.

Park City Conniseur … Trading Card Frenzy

The latest buzz from Park City … D.E.B.S Trading Card Frenzy @ Sundance. Surveying the style and taste of Sundance and some thoughts on opening night including the marketing campaign for D.E.B.S.