John Rambo--Mr. Sensitive? : ‘Un-macho’ ‘Rambo III’ Ads Aimed at Women

Is John Rambo going soft? Is the muscle-bound, gun-toting commando really just a sensitive ‘80s guy?

A new Tri-Star advertising campaign for “Rambo III,” which plays down the film’s macho image, is turning heads. Last week, a newspaper ad featured an older woman--a Queens, N.Y. resident who had seen the movie--saying, “You don’t have to be macho to love ‘Rambo.’ ” This week, a blond model poses as a career woman saying she believes in self-reliance, being aggressive and openly expressing her anger--”kind of like Rambo.”

“It’s just a lighthearted way of letting people know that ‘Rambo’ is more than a picture for action-loving male degenerates,” said David Rosenfelt, executive vice president of marketing for Tri-Star Pictures, which is distributing the film. “We even considered showing a bride or a ballerina as a counterpoint (to Rambo’s macho image).”

Tri-Star’s research shows that 40% of the audience for both “Rambo II” and “Rambo III” is female. “That means that about $60 million was spent by women to see ‘Rambo II,’ right up there with ‘Love Story’ and ‘Terms of Endearment,’ ” Rosenfelt said.

But the new “un-macho” ads, which will replace the traditional newspaper ads on Thursdays, have prompted some industry observers to wonder if Tri-Star is encouraging women to see the film because of disappointment over its box-office showing. The film opened a distant second behind the less violent “ ‘Crocodile’ Dundee II” on Memorial Day weekend and fell into third place behind “Crocodile” and the Tom Hanks comedy “Big” last weekend.

Rosenfelt said that Tri-Star considered the ad campaign before the film even opened, and denied any disappointment with the box-office results.

“This was the 11th-biggest opening of all time,” Rosenfelt said. “This is going to be a very profitable picture for everybody.”

But not as profitable as “Rambo II.” Rosenfelt predicts substantially lower box-office grosses in the United States for the third film--$60 million to $80 million in domestic receipts compared to $150 million for “Rambo II.” But as with the second “Rambo,” Rosenfelt expects a particularly strong showing overseas.

“Rambo II,” Rosenfelt noted, neatly tapped into an upsurge of patriotism in America, particularly in small towns. (“Rambo III” is doing better in urban centers than small towns, according to Tri-Star.)

When the second movie was released, John Rambo even worked his way into the lexicon of top government officials. “Reagan didn’t talk about Indiana Jones or Axel Foley,” noted Rosenfelt.

“Rambo III,” which industry sources have estimated cost about $63 million to produce, so far has brought in nearly $33 million at the box office. The film will bring in substantially more money in box-office receipts and from the sale of videocassette, TV and other ancillary rights. To break even, according to industry estimates, the film would have to gross more than $150 million.