Matthew Young

Ramsey Mathews
ENC 2135
07 July 2015
AdvertisingAladdin!ALookAtHowDisneyCreates(AndMaintains)Revenueand
RelevancyfortheBrand
In1992,DisneyreleasedtheanimatedmovieAladdin.Thefilm,althoughreleased
andrewrittenbyDisney,wasbasedoffaMiddleEasttalewiththesameplot.Thefilm
wasreleasedwithmassivesuccess,promptingDisneytodevelopmorewaystoprofitoff
thesuccessofAladdin.ThiseventuallyledtotheexpansionofAladdinintonewgenres
forconsumers.Today,thecharactersfromAladdinhaveaconstantpresenceinthe
DisneyParksandinNewYorkCity,oneofthemostprominentcitiesintheworld.In
ordertomaintainacontinuoussenseofrelevancyfortheAladdinbrandwhilealso
maintainingthebrandasaconstantsourceforrevenue,Disneyregularlyuses,evolves,
andcreatesgenrestomarketthefilm.Thesegenresincludemusicals,attractions,and
costumedinteractions,alongsidemoretraditionalgenressuchasprintvisualsand
promotionaltrailers.Throughoutthispaper,thegenresusedbyDisneytodevelopand
promotetheAladdinbrandbothpreandpostreleaseofthefilmwillbeinvestigated
alongsidetheireffectsonconsumers.
BeforetheAladdinrelease,themoviewasmarketedthroughseveraldifferent
genrestraditionaltothetime.Thisincludesgenressuchaspromotionalpostersandvideo
trailers.Thesegenreswerestyledinawaysothattheywouldappealmainlytothetarget
audienceofthefilm,youngerchildren,andadditionallytotheoldercrowdwhowould
ultimatelybespendingthemoneytoseethefilm.Becauseofthebroaddemographic,
Disneyhadtocoverofallagesandgenderstheywereforcedtoenterandcraftagenre

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thatwouldcapturetheattentionofall.Theseadvertisementsuserhetoricalappealsto
persuadetheaudiencethatthismoviewasworthwatchingandpayingfor,primarily
pathos.Disneyreliesuponitsestablishedreputationasafamilycompanythatproduces
feelgoodfamilymoviesthataudiencesenjoytomarketitsfilms.Disneykeysinon
thatemotionalconnectionthathasbeenestablishedandmaintainedthroughotherDisney
animationmovies.Thisessentiallyhypesuptheanticipationforthatsamefeelgood
effectinAladdin.Disneyusespathosbecausetheyaretryingtoconvincetheaudienceto
buyticketstothemovie,andultimatelytheaudienceswillhavenotangibletakeaway
fromthemovie;therefore,thosefeelgoodemotionsandmemoriesaretheonlythings
Disneycansell.AnotherwaythatDisneysoldAladdintoaudienceswasthroughtheuse
ofethos.Tofilltheleadroleinthefilm,DisneycastRobinWilliams.Williamsbegan
workforAladdinwithinfiveyearsofproducingbothDeadPoetsSocietyandhisaward
winningroleinGoodMorningVietnam.ThisinturnmadeWilliamsafamiliarfaceto
Americanaudiences.Additionally,thesuccessofWilliamsinGoodMorningVietnam,
winningaGoldenGlobeforhisperformance,addedcredibilitytotheideathatAladdin
wouldbeapromisingfilm.
Afterthereleaseofthefilmanditscommercialsuccess,Disneycontinuedusing
differentgenrestomarketthefilmtoaudiencesandgainprofit.Thisincludedthe
expansionintonewgenresforthosewhohaveseenthemoviesandalsoanexpansionin
ordertokeepthefilmrelevantthroughouttheyears.Todate,thisincludesthe
developmentofcharactercostumesforDisneyemployeesinordertocreateaninteractive
experiencefortheguests.Thisestablishesanewmodeforthegenre.Aladdingoesfrom
whatwassolelyavisualrepresentationofthedepictionofthecharactersbeforethe

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moviewasreleased,toawholenewgenrewherepeoplecannowinteractwiththe
charactersonahumanlevel.Aninteractionwiththecharactersonapersonallevelwithin
theparkallowsforuniqueandlimitlesspossibilitiesforthegueststomakememories
withthecastmemberscostumedascharacters.Thecastmemberswhofilltheseroles
withincostumesaretrainedonhowtomakemagicalmomentsfortheguests,andinturn
createaoneofakindexperiencethatareunforgettableandcannotbereplicated.This
alsoconsequentlychangedthestyleofthegenre,astheAladdinthemeisnow
communicatedthroughhumaninteractionratherthanthroughmediaoraposter.
Additionally,outsideofthethemeparksandmovietheatersDisneyhadpushed
theAladdinbrandtoNewYorkCity.Aladdinwasexpandedintoanewgenre,amusical
playadaptation.Theconceptforamusicalseemedtobealogicalstepgiventhatinthe
originalfilmDisneyincorporatedmanymusicalnumbersandoriginalscorescomposed
solelyforthefilm.Theexpansiontoamusicalallowsforarevisittotheoldpromotional
genresDisneyonceusedwhentheywereadvertisingtheAladdinmovieinthefirstplace.
Forexample,whenadvertisingAladdin:TheMusicaloneoftheprimarygenresDisney
usedtopromotetheshowwasvisualprint.Inthiscase,Disneytookoutmassiveprintads
andbillboardsinTimesSquare.ThisallowedforDisneytoalsorevisitthesame
rhetoricalstrategies,primarilyethos,theyusedinadvertisingthepremiereoftheAladdin
movie.Disneyspecificallyreliesontheethosfromwhenaudiencesenjoyedthefirst
Aladdinmovieandhowtheywouldenjoythemusicaljustasmuch.Althoughtheoriginal
youngeraudiencefrom1992hasgrownup,theconstantpresenceofAladdinoverthe
lasttwelveyearshasallowedDisneytokeepaconstantholdonformeraudienceswhile
simultaneouslygainingnewaudiences.

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AmongthesenewaudiencesDisneyprimarilyappealstoareyoungchildrenand
parents.Althoughcastmemberswhodressupasthecharactersintheparksrepresentthe
Aladdinbrand,thereisalsoanothergenreofcostumingthatAladdinfallsinto.Asoneof
themostprominentDisneyanimatedmoviesfeaturingaprincess,PrincessJasmineisa
popularcharacterforyoungerchildrenandevenadults.Thispresentedanopportunityfor
Disneytomakecostumesavailableforguestswhowishedtoimaginethemselvesinthe
lifeoftheprincess.ThepurposeofPrincessJasminecostumesasagenreistoentertain
theonewearingthecostumeandothersaroundthem.Thecostumesmakeitsothatthe
intendedaudiencewouldbeanyonewhoseesthemincostume,whilealternativelythey
arealsoenjoyingwearingit.Thecostumesservearoleincreatingareactionfromguests
usingpathos;wearingthecostumewillelicitanemotionfromboththepersonwearingit
andtheaudiencewhoseesit.Whenthesubjectisinthecostumetheyareimpersonating
thecharacterinordertofeellikePrincessJasminewould,regardlessofanytrueroyal
heritage.Whatmakesthisgenreuniqueandespeciallyeffectiveisthatwhenusingitthe
targetaudienceforthefilm,whichisreallyanyone,isabletofeelasiftheyweretrulya
partofit,forminganemotionalattachmentbetweentheguestinthecostumeandthe
film.
AladdinalsoinvolvesanothergenrethatiswithinWaltDisneyWorld.Disneyhas
incorporatedaridecalledTheMagicCarpetsofAladdin,themedafterthemoviedue
toitsmassivesuccess.TheattractionwasdevelopedbyWaltDisneyWorldtobesuitable
forchildrenofallages,frompreschoolerstoadults,giventhatthereisnominimum
heightrequirementfortheride.Thepurposeofthisattractionistoentertaintheguestsbut
alsosimulatetheflyingcarpetexperiencethatwasdeliveredintheAladdinmovie.By

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makingtheintendedaudienceoftheattractionpracticallyanyonewhowantedtorideit
DisneyenabledtheridetoserveasawayofintroducingAladdintochildrenwhomay
havenotyetseenthemovie,whilesimultaneouslybeinganaddedexperienceforthose
whohaveseenthemoviebefore.OnceagainthistiesintoDisneysuseofpathosasthey
trytousetheemotionalconnectiononehaswiththemovietomarkettheattraction,or
viceversa.Whatmakesthisparticulargenreeffectiveisthatthisgenreallowsforan
interactiveexperiencewhilealsonotrequiringanypriorbackgroundknowledgeof
Aladdinforittobeenjoyed.Anaddedbonustotheincorporationoftheattractionisthat
themoviecanmarketthisattraction,andforthosewhohavenotseenthemovie,the
attractioncanmarketthemovie.
Overall,Disneyhasusedandcontinuestousenumerousgenreswhenworking
withtheAladdinbrandovertheyears.ThisisevidencedwhenconsideringhowDisney
aimstokeepAladdinrelevanttothetimesdespiteitstwentythreeyearoldage.
Beginningwiththetraditionalformofadvertisingandmarketingin1992Disneyaimed
todrawattractiontothefilm.Today,thegreaterchallengeofkeepingtheattractiontothe
filmrelevantandprofitablehasbeenmetbyDisneywithinnovation,modernization,and
transformation.Today,Disneysgenresprimarilyrelyonpathosastherhetoricalappeal
inordertomarketthebrandwhilealsoaimingtocreateaninteractiveexperienceforthe
guestsinordertostrengthentheconnectionbetweenthebrandandtheguest.Byupdating
andevolvingthegenresusedtomarketAladdinovertimeDisneyisabletokeepa
constantsenseofrelevancyforthefilmwhilealsogeneratingnewsourcesforrevenue
andexpansionofthebrand.

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