Tracy Tuckey wants to sway millions of college students away from movies that encourage sexual deviancy and alcohol abuse.
His mission is to stop all college students from using the Web site Movielink.com, where students can download movies such as American Pie and National Lampoon’s Vacation.
“I have created this Web site to rally all the moral, upstanding students who are appalled by the Movielink College Film Festival,” Tuckey said.
Yet Tuckey’s mission has left everyone wondering why he is boycotting a movie site.
The answer is quite simple.
Movielink created Tracy Tuckey specifically to draw attention to its Web site.
Alan Citron, senior vice president of marketing for Movielink.com, said the company only created the character as a way to introduce college students to the Web site.
Movielink, which was started in November 2002, is a joint venture among MGM Studios, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Universal Studios and Warner Bros., according to Cnetnews.com.
With Movielink, costumers with broadband Internet can download movies for $3 to $5, and the movies will stay on the hard-drive for 30 days. The movies are deleted 24 hours after “play” is pushed.
Tuckey was not the Internet company’s first idea, Citron said. Originally, the company wanted to have a film festival that would show only movies that are popular on college campuses.
“We wanted to do an outreach to college students, because we thought the site would appeal to them,” Citron said.
He said instead of bombarding college students with the same boring advertisements, the company wanted to do it in a more creative way.
Citron said the idea for Tuckey’s character was developed during a meeting with McCann-Erickson Worldwide, an advertising agency.
“It was really an attempt at humor,” Citron said.
He said once the company decided to use the idea, it developed into something bigger.
“People are really intrigued by a character so opposed to so many things,” Citron said. “He’s generated hundreds of e-mails.”
The response to Tuckey’s character has been amazing, Citron said. Most people who write tend to think he is a real person.
He said even though the company receives a lot of e-mails directly addressing Tuckey, it has never made an attempt to mislead any consumers.
Citron said the company assumed that people would get the joke.
If people would carefully look at the poster and give it time, they will get the joke, he said.
Despite the company’s humorous attempt to advertise, University students have mixed reactions to the technique used by the company.
Kajal Buckoreelall, a biological chemistry junior, said she hasn’t paid much attention to the posters because she did not think that it was serious.
Stephen Williams, an agricultural business senior, said the advertising technique could hurt the company’s credibility.
“They are portraying themselves as [something] they are not,” Williams said.
Paul Buller, a civil engineering junior, expressed a similar view.
“They’re fraudulent,” Buller said.
Yet, Erica Christophe, a biological chemistry freshman, said even though she does not think the company’s technique is morally right, the company is using advertising in a very smart way.
“In a way it is very smart,” Christophe said. “They are using propaganda at its best.”
Judah Maddry, a mass communication sophomore, said he would view the site, especially if Kazaa, another Internet site where movies and music can be downloaded, can no longer be used.
He compared the company to musicians who use publicity stunts to gain attention.
“It’s funny really. It is like those death metal musicians like Marilyn Manson and … KISS. It’s publicity,” Maddry said. “America is publicity stunts.”