Did Warner Bros. React Correctly to the Comic Con Leak?

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I am no expert in the field of Public Relations, but have garnered some experience and look into the industry enough to come to understand that it is quite a difficult field. No matter what you do, in the end it is rather difficult to truly say what you do is correct or not, as it simply doesn’t exist. You either react appropriately and subtle to avoid any negative feedback, or loud and aggressive to make your point to avoid any issues in the future. Public Relations has many functions making it even more difficult to say what is the most correct way to react to a specific scenario. The reason I am touching upon this topic is a simple one, as naturally like almost every year some or the entire footage is leaked from the presentations. To a certain extent, it is understandable that people want to share these amazing events with others, and not everyone can participate or afford to attend these events.

With the trailer leak for their upcoming Suicide Squad project, Warner Bros. Sue Kroll, who is the president of Worldwide Marketing and International Distribution, issued a statement stating that the leak was a breach of trust for the studio towards the Comic Con attendee’s.[1] To be honest, this is nothing new for the film industry, as to this day people still sneak into theaters and film their films secretly to spread them online. How is this trailer leak truly a breach of trust considering the last few years? The trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy also found its way online, and sometimes you are lucky that someone just didn’t get a good enough quality video to spread online. Daredevil for example was luckily not leaked after the first clips were shown at New York Comic Con.

Now, in a bizarre twist of events Kroll has published the trailer after all while stating “Warner Bros. Pictures and our anti-piracy team have worked tirelessly over the last 48 hours to contain the Suicide Squad footage that was pirated from Hall H on Saturday. We have been unable to achieve that goal. Today we will release the same footage that has been illegally circulating on the web, in the form it was created and high quality with which it was intended to be enjoyed. We regret this decision as it is our intention to keep the footage as a unique experience for the Comic Con crowd, but we cannot continue to allow the film to be represented by the poor quality of the pirated footage stolen from our presentation.”[2]

On one side, great that they released a high-quality trailer after all to combat the lower quality, but reading through this statement I am coming to understand a very vocal reluctance towards this action. Naturally, a trailer as anticipated as this was going to go viral, but it makes you wonder why they did not prepare for this. Even to some degree that we might not see any more exclusive footage at Comic Con anymore due to the actions of one attendee. As much as this is described as a “damaging trust issue”, the actions feel much more destructive on the side of Warner Bros. You are blaming the entire participants that waited hours on end to see this footage for the actions of one single individual and in a way, punishing for it.

Public Relations is all about phrasing, as the way some things are stated can completely backfire. Kroll’s voiced opinion as they published the footage does not suit well. You are giving them what they want but at the same time pointing the finger at them stating you are only doing this because you have to. In my honest opinion, the biggest issue here is the way they act as if they were only ones. Fox had both the Deadpool and their X-Men Apocalypse trailer leaked, but up to this point no true complaint on their side or a mention of broken trust.

Hell, in my opinion Ryan Reynolds actually reacted the best way by simply stating that “As much as I want the Deadpool footage from SDCC officially released, the VFX shots aren’t done yet. We have something for you in 3 weeks.”[3] This is probably one of the best ways to react, because he explains to them why they don’t want to release it yet, but at the same time already states when they can expect the upcoming trailer. It creates a level of transparency that not only makes people excited to see the actual trailer later on, but also does not accuse the fan base in any way.

I am being harsh, I know and I apologize. Warner Bros. has worked in the industry for years proving to be quite a capable company, but that makes me wonder why these actions were taken. Is it truly trust that was broken? Yes, you released the trailer for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice shortly after the panel, but why not just take that into account and do the same with Suicide Squad. Hell, do something Marvel Studios did a while back when their Avengers: Age of Ultron trailer leaked? Blame it on the Joker for finding a way to let it leak online and just turn it into a joke. I simply don’t see it as a right action to blame people that just want to see your trailers. Instead of not showing any footage in the future, maybe try to show less and bump up security.

What are your thoughts on the matter? Do you agree or disagree? Leave a comment below!

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