Marketing is one of the most important parts of having your film be successful. In today’s day and age where we are surrounded by the internet, film marketing at times can end up lacking. Nowadays it mostly goes with studios releasing trailers and posters and calling it a day while the cast goes up to talk shows. That’s basically how the marketing of a film goes, and certainly enough it does the trick. The audience gets to know about the film, and they get excited about it, but sometimes we do get something really special and creative with a film’s marketing. From The Dark Knight to Avengers Infinity War, 10 Movies Where Villains Triumphed Over Heroes at the End!
Sometimes a movie's marketing might kick in and come out with some really creative ideas that might make the audience think about it. In a way, it’s an approach that lets the audience also participate in a film’s marketing and helps create something truly fun. For example, the marketing for The Blair Witch Project and The Dark Knight are some of the best in this regard. So with that being said, here are seven movies that had some of the most creative viral marketing. From Final Destination to Nightmare on Elm Street 2, 5 Slashers Film That Go 'Final Guy' Route Instead of 'Final Girl'!
The Batman (2020)
Well The Batman is still a month away from release, but the marketing for this movie has been firing on all cylinders. While the trailers and cast interviews have been a smashing hit, over the last few weeks the marketing for the movie has taken a really creative shape. For starters, there was a website launched where Riddler’s riddles were put up. With each riddle solved, fans would be treated to a new promo picture from The Batman. Not only that, the recent posters put up in theatres also have a secret message encoded on them that is revealed with the help of a blue light.
Cloverfield (2008)
Another Matt Reeves film, Cloverfield also upped the ante with modern film marketing. During the release of Transformers, there was a trailer for a film attached with no name to it. All it featured was hand-held camera footage and a shot of the Statue of Liberty’s head landing into the streets of New York. After this the viral marketing began, as fiction companies from the movie had websites set up that led the audience on a hunt for the monster.
Deadpool (2016)
Deadpool features a character whose entire shtick is breaking the fourth wall, so you bet the marketing team capitalised on it. There were a bunch of spots filled with Deadpool directly talking to audiences. Not only that, posters and billboards were put up emulating Deadpool’s sense of humour and faux posters were made up.
Inception (2010)
For Inception, Warner Bros rode the high that was created off from Christopher Nolan’s previous release, The Dark Knight. Inception was a wholly original film that came out at a time where Hollywood was leaning more into reboots and sequels. So how do you generate hype for a film that no one knows about? Center an entire game around its trailer reveal. The game involved the iconic spinning top from the film, and after the game was beaten, the trailer for Inception would unlock.
The Matrix Resurrections (2021)
While the movie may not have lived up to its hype, The Matrix Resurrections still featured a great campaign around its first trailer reveal. Before the trailer dropped online, the official website for the film consisted of playing a teaser over and over again. The most impressive part about it was that at whatever time the audience played the teaser, the narrator would read out the exact time it was on your clock. Not only that, but the scenes in the teaser would keep on getting updated as time went on.
The Blair Witch Project (1999)
The Blair Witch Project’s marketing is one of the big reasons that we have studios sometimes delving into more creative ideas. This horror found footage film took the world by a storm. Focusing on three teenagers getting lost in the woods trying to find a witch, the movie really messed with audiences. There were ‘interviews’ scheduled with characters' parents that talked about their children missing. There were missing posters put up everywhere and an online website was created stating that the tale of the Blair Witch was true. Best part being, the audience actually brought into it and genuinely thought the characters were missing.
The Dark Knight (2008)
Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight had one of the best marketing campaigns of the ‘2000s. With The Dark Knight, we had the Joker appearing as the antagonist in the film. Fans were clamouring for a first look, so instead of directly revealing it, WB sent fans on a hunt throughout the web which saw them unlock the first look at Joker. Not only that, but telephone lines were set up where if you dialed it up, a voiceover would play talking about Harvey Dent’s campaign.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 01, 2022 06:00 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).