Movie Marketing is Hard! "Wedding Daze"

Another in our Movie Marketing Is Hard! series.
Hey, look! The folks behind the "American Pie" movies have created another chapter of the "American Pie" saga! But hold on... something's amiss. "Wedding Daze" is not actually a sequel to the "American Pie" movies.

The "Wedding Daze" DVD cover certainly, ahem, borrows a few visual elements from the branding of the "American Pie" series, don't you think? And the ad campaign (including its television commercials) seems especially intent on ripping off the visual style, tone, and title-osity of "Pie's" third film, "American Wedding." The only thing missing from the cover is a tagline like, "If you liked 'American Pie,' you'll love "Wedding Daze!'" And that would be a tad awkward, because the films were created by different studios.

Jason Biggs prominently featured on the cover? Check. Actors, in tuxedos, isolated from their backgrounds and placed against a white backdrop? Check. Big, boldy, red title, with white specks to dirty it up, and a freakin' rectangle around the title? Check. Slight counter-clockwise tilt of the title graphic? Check. A redhead actress on the cover? Check. "Wedding" in the title? Check.

"Wedding Daze," an MGM film directed by Michael Ian Black, is actually a complete rebranding of the film originally titled "The Pleasure of Your Company," which apparently was completed in 2006. MGM, it seems, sent the project directly to DVD and retitled the movie. I'm sure the marketing folks at Universal are thrilled about "Daze's" marketing campaign.