Modern medieval marketing: Newark tech firm films Monty at Mount Cuba

The sheriff gallops around the pond on an imaginary horse, followed by a party of faithful guards who obediently clap pineapple halves together to simulate the sound of hooves. He stops suddenly, tugging imaginary reins, and pretends to dismount his make-believe steed. Drawing himself up to full height and brushing back his off-white cape, he turns to face the camera and delivers his line.

Monty Python devotees around the world would instantly recognize the scene – and likely chuckle at the pineapple-for-coconut substitution.

Python fans that live in the Brandywine Valley will have a special connection to the scene, because this time, the sheriff, his guards and the percussive pineapples are part of a short spoof, shot at the Mt. Cuba Center in Hockessin to promote the Newark-based technology company Analtech.

Part comedy sketch and part commercial, the film demonstrates Analtech’s signature product – thin layer chromatography plates – by telling the story of Ana L'tech, who uses the company's products to prove to an angry mob and an incompetent sheriff that she is not a witch.

The film will be a viral video – a clip posted on the Internet and shared between techies through e-mail, instant messages, blogs and websites, said Ken Grant, director of sales and marketing at Analtech.

Viral videos make a lot of sense for the audience Analtech is trying to capture, Grant said.

“It would not behoove us to take out a 30-second ad during the Super Bowl when 99 percent of the audience would say, ‘What in the heck is thin layer chromatography?’” he said.

The technology involves using plates made of absorbent materials to separate different parts of a liquid so the components can be tested. Potential customers include crime scene investigators and pharmaceutical companies.

The average person will not rush out to buy the newest thin layer chromatography plates before they go out of style, Grant said, so Analtech went after a new strategy: memorable advertising that the company hopes tech-savvy consumers will freely share at the speed of broadband, because it is so cool.

For the film, Analtech enlisted the help of the Delaware Film Company, gathered 50 amateur and professional actors, a collection of medieval tunics, hoods, capes – and a witch-testing duck, of course.

Actors and crew arrived at the Mt. Cuba Center shortly after sunrise on June 21, set up equipment on the shore of a small pond surrounded by leafy, green undergrowth, rehearsed, then painstakingly filmed each segment of the video.

Filming was slow, but being involved was incredibly exciting, said Jim Jones of Newark, who played Baldric the Giant. He had never acted before and was thrilled for the opportunity to be in the commercial.

“Running around the woods wearing crazy costumes, it just seemed like it would be a trip to do,” he said, sitting in the shade and re-reading the script while other amateur actors nearby made minor adjustments to their medieval costumes.

Wilmington resident Dan Sutton, who played Sheriff Merck, practiced riding his imaginary horse around the pond and delivering his lines with as much arrogance as possible. The idea of a Monty Python-themed viral video appealed to him because thousands of Internet users will laugh out loud when they see Sheriff Merck trotting across the grass.

“I don’t know about being famous, per se, but it is interesting to realize there are going to be people out there I don’t know who will see my face,” he said.

Viral videos could be the next big thing in marketing, said Chris Stout, the film’s director. The trick to creating a successful one is shooting a film that is entertaining, but still provides plenty of information, he said.

If done right, the film will circle the globe quickly after its mid-August release on Analtech's website (www.analtech.com) building brand loyalty among thousands of consumers, said Stout.