At the time of writing, this movie has not opened in theaters. Yet the preview, referred to technically as the movie trailer, for this action-packed flick has been playing in theaters and on general TV channels for some time.

In the scene highlighted at right, Kevin Costner, who plays a hard-core Elvis impersonator, asks the young woman if she would like a smoke. The girl responds saying, "No... [pause] ... but I do everything else." A line sure to get a rise from every "Beavis & Butthead" out there.

Nearly every scene in this movie promotion includes a major smoking theme. When Costner is introduced as the movie's star, he is shown exhaling cigarette smoke -- extremely cool! The movie promo portrays Costner as a "tough," a man of action -- way macho (conveniently fits tobacco advertising such as Philip Morris Marlboro cigarettes, no wonder they're so popular with young males).

Samples of remaining scenes below capture Costner in various smoking situations. Left, laughing hysterically with his cigarette; middle, romancing a sexy, young girl; right, Costner throws his lit cigarette out window (a burning cigarette thrown from a car started a major fire in New Mexico).

In the three scenes highlighted below, we see the results of Costner's "burning cigarette out the window" stunt -- brilliant. Left, burning cigarette hits the ground; center, cigarette accidentally ignites fluid on ground; right, discarded cigarette results in major explosion -- MASCOT bets this catches the viewer's attention.

This movie trailer combines all the triggers of a powerful seduction. In the background plays cool Elvis music. Macho, tough male figures rough it up throughout. There is the requisite touch of sexiness and scantily-clad women. The spot closes with an explosion to get the viewer's attention, and rolls to credits with a firery scene highlighting the "King."

This 30-second action spot does wonders for the tobacco industry. Why would Philip Morris, RJ Reynolds/Nabisco or Brown & Williamson need commercials when Hollywood does such an effective job promoting smoking and irresponsible smoking behavior for them? The spot plays all day long; it is shown to all audiences, "The following PREVIEW has been approved for ALL AUDIENCES by the Motion Picture Association of America" -- yet as evident in the final scene, the movie contains "Stong Violence, Sexuality and Language" as well as DRUGS. Young kids get the message, smoking is extremely cool; it's fun and exciting. Way to go Warner Brothers, you're doing wonders for America in your effort to fill your pockets with Benjamins. Visit www.3kmtg.com for a review of previews.

back