The US political nominating conventions are over and YouGov Direct users are getting in the mood for some election content. This week the trailer for Amazon Studios new political documentary “All In: The Fight for Democracy” took the top spot - both in terms of popularity and effectiveness - in YouGov’s weekly movie trailer survey.
Each week, YouGov Direct asks a group of its members to watch movie trailers. We then report on what they say. YouGov Direct’s surveys investigate how effective movie trailers are in persuading people to consider seeing a film, what they think about the content of the trailer, and how good or bad they expect the movie to be. Thousands of people provide immediate feedback on movie trailers using the YouGov Direct platform.
Learn more about YouGov Direct and find YouGov Direct on the App Store and on Google Play.
“All In: The Fight for Democracy” examines the history of voter suppression and the activists who are fighting for the rights of US citizens. It features Stacey Abrams, a Democratic gubernatorial candidate for the 2018 Georgia elections and founder of voter advocacy group Fair Fight Action.
“All In: The Fight for Democracy” had the most effective trailer of the week. Prior to seeing the trailer, 15 percent of YouGov Direct users said they were somewhat or very likely to see this Amazon documentary. Post trailer, that number rose to 39 percent. That's a lift of 24 percentage points in intent, the highest lift this week. Fans of real life dramas were especially excited about the film. After watching the trailer, nearly half (47%) of YouGov Direct members who said they were fans of documentaries said they would watch the doc.
The powerful political documentary, from Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning filmmakers Liz Garbus and Lisa Cortés, was also the most effective at persuading people to consider subscribing to its streaming service. There was an increase of 5 percentage points in intent to subscribe to Amazon Prime Video after users watched the trailer, once again the highest increase this week.
So what made it such an effective trailer? The film's bold look at one of the most incendiary topics in modern politics appeared to be the main draw for most users. When we asked respondents what they liked best about the trailer, nearly half said it was the ‘story or theme’ (49%).
However, this divisive subject matter did not appeal to all users. 62 percent of respondents who voted for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election said they were interested in watching the documentary after watching the trailer on the YouGov Direct App. That figure was 15 percent for respondents who voted for Donald Trump.
In the mood for some lighter fare? Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter return as Bill and Ted for a third time in the adventure comedy “Bill & Ted Face the Music.” This dopey duo first appeared in the 1989 film “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure” preaching a very simple message, “Be excellent to each other. Party on.”
Millennials may be scratching their heads, but for those who love the originals, the wait is finally over, dudes!
“Bill & Ted Face the Music” was the most anticipated film this week amongst YouGov Direct members. Of those who took the survey, 90 percent were aware of the musical and 27 percent of users said they were already likely to see it before watching the trailer.
Despite this high level of awareness, the trailer failed to persuade additional YouGov Direct respondents to consider seeing the film. After viewing the trailer on the YouGov Direct App, 34 percent said they were now likely to see it. That's a lift of 7 percentage points in intent, 17 percentage points less than “All In: The Fight for Democracy.”
Comedy fans were somewhat more excited by the trailer. Two in five (40%) of those who said they were fans of comedy films said they would see the movie after viewing the trailer.
YouGov Direct users may have been hungry for some 90s nostalgia. When asked what they liked best about the trailer, 38 percent of respondents said it was one or more of the characters. A further 39 percent said it was ‘one or more of the actors’ depicted in the clip.
YouGov Direct also asks respondents to tell us how good or bad they think a movie will be, based on the trailer. This week, the highest score went to the period comedy-drama “The Personal History of David Copperfield”. Users awarded the film 3.5.This is out of a possible 5.0 and equals the median score of 3.5 for all movie trailers tested to date. Both “All In: The Fight for Democracy” and “Bill & Ted Face the Music” came in second position, with a score of 3.4
Related:
- The trailer for Disney adventure “The One and Only Ivan” wowed viewers this week
- Jamie Foxx’s new film “Project Power” knocked the competition out this week
- Viewers are enamoured with the trailer for “The Secret Garden”
- RZA’s new movie “Cut Throat City” crowned most effective trailer of the week
- The trailer for Marie Curie biopic “Radioactive” caught the most attention this week
- Emotional Netflix documentary “Father Soldier Son” had the most effective trailer this week
Image: Getty
Methodology: Data is based on 4,000 interviews, including a minimum of 400 responses for each movie trailer tested. Surveys were conducted online on August 28, 2020.
