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When I saw the first trailer for Big Miracle, I was captivated by the icebreaker footage. Admittedly, because I thought I recognized some of it. When the 30 second spots began playing I was disappointed to see that the icebreaker footage had been left on the cutting room floor.

So it was with trepidation that I bought a ticket for the octogenarian and I. What if the icebreaker that I saw in that first trailer never actually made it to the film. I needn’t have worried. An icebreaker played a significant role in the real life story of the rescue of a trio of California Grey Whales.

I posted my review of the film, a week or so ago. The film didn’t do too well at the box office that first weekend, so I did not expect to see much traffic to my blog. I could never have been more wrong. That review has generated more traffic than any one post since the inception of this blog. Big Miracle’s audience leaves the theatre and Googles – Big Miracle icebreaker. [They don't always spell miracle correctly, fyi.] Despite the fact the icebreaker used looks nothing like the icebreaker actually involved in the incident – Admiral Makarov,  50 Years of Victory – the icebreaker in the film – makes a big impact. Pun intended!

The other keyword driver to my blog has been Sarah Palin Big Miracle. A very young Sarah Palin is seen in the last few minutes of the film as the credits role. She also receives a shout-out during the credits. No mention was ever made of the former governor of Alaska’s appearance in the film in the publicity material that I saw.

Two big and miraculous marketing opportunities were missed.

PS – the header photo at the top of the page – that is Victory, June 29, 2008,  just a couple of days before the footage you see in the film was shot. The tripod to the left – that held the camera on which the ice level footage was shot.