Daily Buzz

July 16, 2009

Topic: Harry Potter –VS- Twilight

It’s not a surprise that Harry Potter is the hot topic on our community boards right now. 

The film is already setting box office records – raking in a whopping $22.2 million in less than 24 hours and it is said to be the best midnight opening of all time.  In observing the dialogue between each of our community members I realized a battle of sorts emerging.  It seemed like there was a great divide between Harry Potter fans and Twilight fans.  We wanted to dig deeper to get at the ‘why’ behind this debate.  Even though the results show such alliance to Twilight (it seems that it’s cooler to admit you like Twilight – as opposed to Harry Potter), there is still such intrigue and excitement around this summer’s soon-to-be hottest movie.  We’re sensing there are a lot of closet-HP fans out there who will most definitely contribute to the success of the film.  We’re also detecting a swell in excitement amongst our mom community.  They are planning their weekend around the film, having Harry Potter-themed parties.  Who says this movie is just for the kiddies?! 

Below are the results to the questions behind the battle that has surfaced between the two franchises.

 

The observations below are based on community members 13-21 years old.

Are you going to see Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince?

Yes: 78% (Ages: 13-16 years old: 38% / 17-21 years old: 40%)

No: 22% (Ages: 13-16 years old: 16% / 17-21 years old: 6%)

Of the 78% who are answered yes, 38% already has seen it

Of the 22% that answered no, we asked why:

-       Not interested in HP

-       Grew out of the series, now more interested in Twilight

-       Other

It seems that the younger 13-16 year old demo was less interested/invested to see Harry Potter, as opposed to the older Millennials – 17+).  The younger Millennial demographic did not grow up with the Harry Potter series. The first Harry Potter book (Harry Potter and The Philosophers Stone) came out in 1997, when this demo was still in pull-ups.  Whereas the older Millennials were of an age where they were reading and/or exposed to Harry Potter mania.

Which is cooler – Wizards or Vampires?

Wizards: 22%

Vampires: 88%

Seems that evil is cool – as the community chooses Vampires over Wizards when it comes to which is cooler.  Wizards are portrayed (at least in Harry Potter’s case) as concocting spells/potions to fight evil.  Whereas Vampires are out for blood (literally), but in Edward Cullens case, love prevails.  Vampires are cooler, sexier and the way Hollywood has presented them to us, more socially acceptable  (falling in love with humans – Edward and Bella, Buffy & Angel, Sookie & Bill, etc.).

What attracts your attention more – magic or love?

Magic: 42%

Love: 58%

97% of the male community members chose magic.

This is a case of fantasy vs. reality.  Magic is fantasy based (good vs. evil) and a topic that appeals to the male demo predominately.  Love is more reality-based and  what females of any age dream about and hope for – especially how it’s portrayed in the movies and when it involves Robert Pattinson.

Who is cooler – Harry or Edward?

Harry: 28%

Edward: 72%

Putting his obsessed infatuation and love for Bella aside, Edward Cullen is still considered cooler than Harry Potter.  The community finds Edward more mysterious and strong.  He doesn’t need special potions/spells to protect – he’s born a fighter/killer.  Harry was also first introduced to this demographic as a naïve kid, whereas Edward was introduced as a brooding teen.  Even among our male community members Edward is deemed cooler than Harry. 

Which group do you fall in – “The Potterheads” or “The Twiheads”?

Twiheads: 45%

Potterheads: 25%

Both: 30%

There is a ‘cooler’ quality to being a Twihead as opposed to a Potterhead.  Those that are in the Twihead group said they don’t have to wear wizard hats, scarves or glasses to be included.  Twiheads are just fans who enjoy the characters and storylines of the book series.  Potterheads is a longer running group – so many have aged-out and others have renewed their enrollment but also joined the Twihead group.  Crossover seems to be acceptable.

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 23rd, 2009 at 2:21 pm and is filed under Generate Insight Daily Buzz. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.