content warning: mentions of (fake) blood
Movies are remembered for many things, whether it be quotes, cinematography or songs. But some movies create excitement before the piece’s release, which will often also be remembered in the future. I believe that immersive marketing for films creates enthusiasm because one becomes a part of the movie. There was a time when movie marketing was limited to billboards plastered on tall buildings, but nowadays, the marketing departments have worked hard to create hype that has never been seen before.
There is something extraordinary about bringing a movie to a person’s day-to-day life, from walking down the streets on your way to work and seeing the Bat Signal to watching a football game and randomly seeing creepy smiles. Growing up as a film enthusiast, I enjoyed seeing the excitement around my favourite movies. Below, I have listed some great movies with even more extraordinary marketing.
I think some of the most memorable movie marketing also happens to be frightening. The movie Kill Bill: Vol. 1, directed by Quinten Tarantino, took a stab at it by adding bloody advertisements to random spots around cities.
The advertisements were gore enough to be one of the best I have ever seen. For instance, one of their promotions included a pool of blood on public bathroom floors, with a small sticker pointing to it stating “ Kill Bill” and the movie release date. Another memorable advertisement included blood splattered onto the wall and cars next to the Kill Bill billboard.
From the cutthroat slashes to the puddle of blood on the bathroom floor, everyone will remember the marketing that got us all wondering when we would be able to watch Kill Bill.
This movie spent more than a million dollars on the advertisement to match the long-standing reputation of Tarantino.
Contrastingly, there are cinematic universes, such as the DC universe and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, where the marketing of the movies is done by the fans. From Easter eggs to the possible introduction of new characters, the fans, such as myself, create much-needed anticipation for the movie. In this take, Batman: The Dark Knight surprised fans by making them a part of Gotham City.
For instance, a mock newspaper was published with hidden clues and hints about the movie. What made it even more interesting was that the newspaper was called “The Gotham Times,” with Batman plastered on the front page.
The marketing team also created a real-life Gotham election to relate it to the character of Harvey Dent — a fictional character running to become a district attorney in the movie. People attended the rally of Dent in major cities like New York, Michigan and Seattle. They even gave Gotham-based voters registration cards.
Soon, New York City and Chicago actually became Gotham City when a huge bat signal appeared on top of the buildings.
The collective usage of what the movie entails surely created excitement. This movie has since then been considered one of the most amazing comic book movies ever made. Not only was it a hit for the critics but also the world as it reached over one billion in box office.
Let’s talk about IT’s movie marketing during the spooky season. IT became one of the most successful horror movies, breaking the pre-sale records and becoming a digest-grossing movie. While 2016 may have been the year of clowns, I believe Pennywise extended that fear into 2017. The infamous red balloon became a recurring nightmare for me. That experience was tied together in a perfect knot when red balloons started appearing from sewers as a part of their marketing strategy.
In another effort to creep out anxious watchers, they organized a fake rally of real-life clowns! This all started in September 2017 when a professional clown had planned to rally in front of a New York City theatre as a protest, stating that his business had suffered because of IT. But that turned out to be a promotional hoax!
The movie Smile’s creepy grins would have to win the most immersive experience of this year. Paramount hired actors to go to random places, such as the Today show and a Yankees versus Red Sox game, to showcase some of the most haunting smiles I have ever seen.
As a movie buff, I cannot imagine a more fun experience than seeing a film become a reality through marketing. While most of the aforementioned strategies were terrifying, they were proven successful. All these movies attracted views.. The weekend opening of Smile secured over 22 million at the box office.
We have seen a lot of minor publicity throughout the years, and the general population doesn’t seem to notice the posters as much, but, with mind-blowing marketing, great excitement is created for the existing and soon-to-be fans.
I think the immersive experience is much better than traditional marketing because who wouldn’t want to live in a city with Batman? But I’m still not sure if I enjoy being creepily smiled at.