A $65-Million Sales Job for ‘Jurassic’ Video

The last video you’d expect to need a giant ad campaign is “Jurassic Park,” the world box-office champ. You’d think that an ordinary campaign plus word of mouth would be enough to trigger stampedes to video outlets.

But when it debuts on video Oct. 4, priced at $25, “Jurassic Park” will be supported by a whopping $65-million promotional and advertising campaign.

Overkill? A waste of ad dollars? Andrew Kairey, MCA/Universal’s senior vice president of marketing and sales, doesn’t think so.

“Nothing is an easy sell,” he said. “You have to make consumers aware of the tape and make it an attractive purchase.”

This video, though, has to be the lock of the year in the video market. The betting is that “Jurassic,” which will be routinely discounted to the $14-$15 range, will gobble up the sales record of Disney’s “Aladdin,” which has topped 24 million copies.

Yet video retailers are unhappy about one aspect of MCA/Universal’s promotional plan--a tie-in with McDonald’s. Starting Nov. 18, by making a purchase at the hamburger outlet, you can buy for $6 one of four MCA/Universal videos: “The Land Before Time,” “An American Tail: Fievel Goes West,” “Back to the Future” or “Field of Dreams.” Each tape will include a $2.50 mail-in rebate on a “Jurassic Park” video.

Retailers simply don’t want McDonald’s meddling in the video business. Not only is a tape sold at a fast-food outlet money out of their pockets, it also primes consumers for further purchases at such restaurants, rather than video stores. And the low price undercuts the retailers, prompting fears that customers will balk at paying the average store cost of $15-$20 for a video.

MCA/Universal’s Kairey defends the rebate deal, arguing that it sends consumers back to video stores. “They have to purchase the (“Jurassic Park”) tape at a retail store, which increases traffic at the retail level,” he said.

Videobits

The early returns are in on “The Return of Jafar,” Disney’s direct-to-video sequel to “Aladdin.” The company reports that nearly 5 million of the 8 million units shipped were sold in the first week. Consumers were obviously responding to the ads and ignoring the negative reviews. . . . MCA/Universal is following in Disney’s footsteps with a direct-to-video sequel to its 1988 animated feature “The Land Before Time.” The tape, “The Land Before Time: Great Valley Adventure,” is due Dec. 27 at $20.

Special Interest Videos

The best of the Jackie Onassis tapes is A&E;’s documentary “Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis,” priced at $20. . . . The market is jammed with tapes that are the video equivalent of elevator music, but “Coral Sea Dreaming” is much better than the norm. It features gorgeous visuals of the Great Barrier Reef accompanied by an intriguing score. From Small World Music for $30, (800) 757-2277. . . . Cabin Fever Entertainment has just put out four new Laurel and Hardy titles at $10 each: “Scram!,” “Their First Mistake,” “Towed in a Hole” and “Twice Two.” . . . On June 15, CBS-Fox will put out, at $15, “Dream Team II,” showcasing the NBA players on the team participating in the world basketball championships in Toronto Aug. 4-14.

Tech News

Portable CD players are a lot more attractive these days. The hot models are equipped with anti-shock memory buffers, which cut down on sound skipping that happens when the machine is moved around. These machines, which had been retailing in the $300 range, are selling as low as $150--from Sony and Sanyo/Fisher. Also, more companies, such as Kenwood and Panasonic, have introduced models this year. Two more have joined the bandwagon. Aiwa has a $190 model coming next month and Magnavox has one, priced at $219, due in early fall.

What’s New on Video

“Short Cuts” (Columbia TriStar). For about three hours, co-writer/director Robert Altman weaves together myriad mini-dramas about unhappy Californians, featuring a star-studded cast including Andie MacDowell, Robert Downey Jr. and Madeleine Stowe. The film earned Altman an Oscar nomination for best director. If you prefer movies with linear story lines and few subplots, you’ll likely have a hard time getting into this one.

“Firecreek” (Warner, $30). An excellent but often overlooked 1968 Western about a kindly sheriff (James Stewart) battling a gang of bad guys, with Henry Fonda playing the chief villain.

FILMS ON VIDEO

Recent films coming out on video: HBO/Savoy’s “Shadowlands,” featuring Anthony Hopkins and Debra Winger, is due July 13. Also: “Wayne’s World 2” and “My Life” (Wednesday); “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective” (June 14); “The Getaway,” “Dangerous Game” and “The Air Up There” (June 15); “Six Degrees of Separation,” “Geronimo: An American Legend,” “Tombstone” and “Gunmen” (June 22); “The Pelican Brief,” “Philadelphia,” “In the Name of the Father” and “Iron Will” (June 29); “Grumpy Old Men,” “Sugar Hill,” “House Party 3,” and “Romeo Is Bleeding” (July 6); “Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit,” “Searching for Bobby Fischer,” “Blink,” “Heaven and Earth” and “Car 54, Where Are You?” (July 13); “On Deadly Ground” and “My Father the Hero” (July 20); “Wrestling Ernest Hemingway,” “Cabin Boy” and “Blank Check” (July 27); “Beethoven’s 2nd” (Aug. 9); “Tim Burton’s the Nightmare Before Christmas” (Sept. 30); “Jurassic Park” (Oct. 4); “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” (Oct. 28).