The Hollywood Reporter has learned that there’s something called “viral marketing,” which has something to do with putting a bunch of cyberweb sites up on the World Wide Netting and ensnaring geeks who have nothing better to do than click their mice-pads all day, collecting clues from the Joker that may somehow lead them to the jackpot prize of getting to watch a movie trailer two hours before everyone else.
In a cranky piece called “Summer viral camp: Feeling pinpricked yet?”, Andrew Wallenstein dissects the intricate yet ultimately nonsensical web campaigns for such blockbusters-in-waiting as The Dark Knight and Hancock. “Gone are the days when marketing a movie online involved simply buying a URL like DarkKnight.com and uploading a trailer. Warner Bros. has launched more than 30 Web sites during the past year in support of the latest in the Batman franchise, a trail of virtual bread crumbs intended to sate fans until the July 18 release.”
The trail doesn’t always end in cyberspace, however; in the case of The Dark Knight, it extends into a strange realm known as the real world. “One Knight site provides clues pointing to screenings that were scheduled for Monday in 12 different cities, including Hollywood & Highland. But fans expecting a handy online guide that lists dates and locations for the screening will be disappointed. Instead, you'll arrive at a spooky Web site featuring portraits of presidents whose images had been defaced by the telltale makeup of the Joker. Clicking on each portrait links to a set of coordinates that require accessing Google Maps to decipher.”
Hey, you’d think Wallenstein could at least muster some enthusiasm for anything that gets the fans out of their mother’s basements and into the sunlight, but no. “When Cloverfield played around with viral strategies, it was cool. Now that everyone else is copying -- not so cool.” Wait, Cloverfield is getting the credit for starting all this? Surely everyone remembers the elaborate AI viral campaign way back in ought-one, no?
For the record, I have nothing against the viral marketing campaigns. They’re keeping potential threats to society busy either designing them or trying to figure them out, which can only be a good thing. I’m just not convinced they actually serve their purpose as marketing. They seem to appeal only to the hardcore faithful who will be shelling out to see the product multiple times anyway. Has anyone ever been convinced to see a movie because they were impressed by the ingenuity of the online puzzles? Wallenstein reaches much the same conclusion. He’s just grumpier about it.