The Heinrich Report Blog

As marketers, we’re constantly seeking inspiration to help keep our ideas innovative, compelling and engaging. We keep up with the latest marketing books, subscribe to the top blogs and comb the trade news. This month, we’re inspired by Toy Story 3, just released on DVD. What can a top-grossing CGI feature film teach us about marketing? Read on.

Endless creativity, thought-provoking dialogue, engaging visuals and a captivating story that resonates with audiences — this film has everything a good marketing campaign should have! Intrigued, we decided to go behind the scenes and learn more. Through an interview with screenwriter Michael Arndt and Director Lee Unkrich on Fresh Air, we learned how great ideas brought this story to life, and we gleaned a few valuable lessons we can use in the marketing world, too.

Find the right story to tell. Some scenes in Toy Story 3 were more challenging than others to write, including one that went through 60 drafts before it made it to the screen. The time and persistence it took paid off with a pitch-perfect scene at the beginning that sets the movie on the right path. As marketers, we’re often in such a rush we can forget the importance of self-editing. But it’s worth the wait to get the right message.

Adapt. In the early ’90s, Pixar decided to create the first fully computer-generated film. But technology hadn’t yet matched Pixar’s own vision of what they wanted images to look like on a screen. They didn’t get frustrated; they moved ahead anyway, choosing a story that would let the film be the best it could be. “Things that were shiny or plastic or hard — like wood or plastic or metal — those were pretty easy to make,” said Unkrich, “so it’s no accident that our first film was about toys made out of plastic and wood and metal.” As a result, the first Toy Story film is still considered a groundbreaking achievement.

Be emotionally honest and truthful. Toy Story 3, as the last in a trilogy, could have been over-the-top outrageous in so many ways. Instead, it had parents and kids in tears. As Andy, the toys’ owner, gets ready for college, the toys don’t want to follow him. “What they really want,” says Ardnt, “is acknowledgement, and I think that’s a universal thing. I think a lot of people go through life feeling like they work really hard and they’re doing a good job and they just want some sort of emotional acknowledgment.” By touching on universally understood feelings of loss, of moving on, of seeing children grow, Toy Story 3 became more than a movie just for kids.

Don’t be afraid to put yourself in different situations. Imagine being a writer trying to articulate what Mr. Potato Head thinks about losing a limb, or what toys might think as they face their own equivalent of mortality! Creative boundaries get pushed to make previously unthinkable situations seem authentic, realistic and relatable, and it can bring to light learnings you never saw before.

Make your message meaningful. The emotional attachment audiences young and old feel to the characters in Toy Story 3 is a terrific creative feat. By presenting the toys in an emotionally honest and intelligent way no matter the situation, the filmmakers created a meaningful narrative. It’s even more impressive when you remember that this is the third movie in a series. “We didn’t want it to feel like an arbitrary, grafted-on sequel,” said Ardnt. “We didn’t want to make it unless we had something to say.”

Never assume “it’s simple.” Of everything you’ll see in the movie — toys coming to life, gorgeous renderings of unimaginable situations — you might be surprised to learn that the most difficult thing to make was a garbage bag. By this third movie, technology had finally caught up enough that the animators could detail plush fur on a bear, but getting the lighting just right so a garbage bag looked real was another story. Explains Unkrich, “It’s always the things we’re used to seeing [that are most difficult]. If I make up a monster, and we create a monster, you can get away with a lot because no one’s ever seen a monster before. Everyone every single day pulls out trash bags…you know if it doesn’t look right.”

If you haven’t seen Toy Story 3 (or even if you have), it’s available on video now. Check it out!