When the website Chatroulette was a highly popular website, the team behind The Last Exorcism created a fake video that showed a young woman seductively undressing before becoming possessed and popping out at the viewer with the a URL of the film’s official website. Later on, various reaction-style videos would pop up all over the Internet, further cementing the viral marketing campaign’s success in getting noticed.
The Last Exorcism went on to earn $67.7 million at the box office on a budget of only $1.8 million, and there’s no doubt the strategy was successful in pushing the film’s visibility on a small marketing budget.
District 9 -
District 9 was a film about aliens that had become stranded in Johannesburg, South Africa, since 1982 and have been discriminated against ever since. The marketing team began to place fictitious segregational billboards around major cities that read “Humans Only” in public places such as bus stops. Because both the film and director Neill Blomkamp were not at all well-known at this point, the posters were successful in gaining attention from both filmgoers and non-filmgoers alike, who were equally interested in uncovering out the story behind the posters.
Later, websites began to pop up related to the fictional Multi-National United organisation that polices alien activity in the film, as well as an anti-MNU website, which decried actions by the organisation. This Campaign did an amazing job of putting this film in the eye of the public, and helped the film gain a lot of interest.
The Dark Knight -
Before the release of The Dark Knight, many fans were very excited about the return of joker to the big screen. This lead to the release of their viral advertising campaign.
Before the first trailer for The Dark Knight had premiered, Warner Bros. launched a series of websites based on the world of Gotham City, including a legitimate-looking campaign site for Harvey Dent. Besides introducing the motto “I believe in Harvey Dent” and giving fans early access to themes explored in the film, the Joker would later take to the same sites, defacing them and making his presence felt. Soon after, emails sent to the vandalised website would remove the pixels blocking an image and revealing to fans the first official image of the Joker. Warner Bros. would again use viral marketing to push the film, as it sent fans on a scavenger hunt at Comic-Con that would unlock a teaser trailer and a new photo of the Joker. This created a buzz, and Fans became obsessed with trying to unlock this trailer and the photo of the Joker. This campaign may not have had the biggest impact on the films success, due to it being such a well known film, however it did help keep fans intrigued in the run up to the films release.
Super 8-
Abrams is well known for his success in terms of viral marketing, therefore it is no surprise that Super 8's viral advertising went so well. With an extensive viral marketing campaign that sent fans to a series of cryptic websites while keeping the secrets of the alien hidden, Abrams was again able to stir huge amounts of interest as fan’s were eager to go to the Cinemas to uncover the secrets.
Super 8’s campaign started with a trailer depicting the aftermath of a U.S. Air Force train derailment coming from Area 51 and a creature escaping. Keen fans aware of Abrams’ penchant for hidden messages discovered the hidden words “Scariest Thing I Ever Saw,” which led to a website containing clues revolving around the film’s storyline.
The most talked-about part of the film in its lead-up to release was the alien itself, which was kept a secret not only up until release but also deep into the film itself.
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