Marketing Lessons Learned from The Princess Bride Remake

Last night, we finally got around to watching “The Princess Bride Home Movie.” It’s a hilarious remake cobbled together from scenes reenacted by dozens of A-list actors during Covid lockdown in their own homes, using makeshift costumes and props. If you haven’t seen it, go to YouTube and watch it immediately. Then, come back to read this. I’ll wait.

The movie got me thinking, as one does, about marketing (what - you don’t do this after movies? Inconceivable!*). I came up with these ideas lying awake last night replaying key scenes in my head:

1. You just can’t compete with a classic. Remember Grease 2? Psycho 2? Yeah, there’s a reason for that. If anybody tried to remake The Princess Bride in all seriousness, it would be a mockery and a travesty. Knowing this full well, the brilliant cast and directors used umbrellas and spatulas to stand in for swords, while Lego characters climbed the Cliffs of Insanity, and someone’s Corgi riotously played one of the ROUSes in the Fire Swamp. 

The marketing lesson: Don’t go head-to-head with a major competitor or industry mainstay by playing the same marketing game. Be memorable by being different in your approach. Capture attention by being fun while competitors are serious, quirky while they are classic, self-deprecating while they are strict, authentic and approachable while they are impermeably professional.

• When Inigo and Fezzig bring Westley to Miracle Max, he initially won’t take the job. Once Max realizes they’re on a mission he believes in, he jumps at the chance to align himself with them, regardless of the cost.

The marketing lesson: Customers will not be as likely to price-shop if you have a great mission. What’s your greater purpose as a company? Do you convey your mission in everything you do, or do you only slap a pink ribbon on your website once a year to virtue-signal? BONUS: A higher purpose (beyond driving shareholder value) is what attracts not only loyal customers, but loyal employees.

• In the movie, multiple actors stand in for various roles, including the role of the grandson and his grandpa who narrates the book/movie. If you haven’t seen the Home Movie, I won’t spoil the ending. Suffice it to say that the last two actors to play grandson/grandpa have a very special significance to the movie and each other, and it was very touching to see. The final dedication of the movie makes it all the more special.

The marketing lesson: don’t be afraid to be full-on human in your marketing. Sharing not only your company’s wins in the marketplace, but the celebrations of your staff endears your audience to you and builds trust. Did someone just have a baby? Celebrate a milestone? Recover from a long illness? Showing the real faces of your staff - from the CEO to the stockroom - and telling their stories is so much more humanizing and relatable than hiring models and actors to stand in. Pepper in tales of real life between all the productizing and we’ll take notice.

Next time you’re up against an inconceivably* strong competitor, channel your inner Westley or Buttercup: remember to wield spatulas instead of swords, realize an unexpected Corgi is more delightful as a Rodent of Unusual Size, and truly grab hold of the unexpected. Also, don’t forget the power of a noble mission in building a truly loyal following. And lastly, just like the heartwarming finale of the Home Movie, embrace the human side of your company. In a world full of Humperdinks and Vizzinnis, you’ll be able to create your own happily ever after. 

*see what I did there?

Shawna Suckow, CSP, is a professional speaker who serves audiences of salespeople, marketers, C-Suite, business owners, and women’s groups across all industries, all over the world. The two areas she nerds out on the most: consumer behavior, and setting priorities. The consumer behavior focus helps anyone with something to sell, so they understand what’s working right now, and what’s not. The priorities focus is all about inspiring people to stop living and working on auto-pilot. To make each day the best it can be, under their unique human circumstances. She loves when she gets to combine both (check out her session called The Most Unique Keynote Ever!). You can reach Shawna at info@shawnasuckow.com.