2. WHAT IS A VIRAL ADVERT?
Viral advertising refers to when a product, brand, service (etc.) is publicised via the
internet, or via word-of-mouth. The concept of it is that the marketing itself starts off
small by making a product known to a small number of people. Some, if not all of
these people will then use pre-existing social networks (such as Facebook and Twitter)
in order to inform others of the product. This leads to an exponential growth of
acknowledgement of said product. In a way, it can act as free publicity as a company
attempting to increase the awareness of a product doesn’t actually need to have
much input. In a sense, the product will ‘advertise itself’ across social media.
The John Lewis Christmas ad (seen left) was very popular on
the internet, holding over 20,000,000 views on YouTube by
January.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuz2ILq4UeA
3. WHY IS IT BENEFICIAL?
• Enhanced market – It allows brand awareness to increase
exponentially due to people spreading the word with their friends.
• Very efficient – While advertisements on the television or in a
newspaper can be longwinded in terms of attracting customers, a
viral ad will spread very quickly between different people (hence
the term ‘viral’, i.e. – a virus).
• Cost effective – Unlike many other forms of advertising, businesses
only need a small amount of input for a viral ad, in that it will
mostly distribute itself. This means that this form of advertising is
much cheaper, whilst still reaching a mass audience.
4. IN WHAT WAYS CAN A FILM BE
VIRALLY ADVERTISED?
It is very common for upcoming films to be advertised virally in order to create
a ‘buzz’ throughout social media. Depending on the marketing budget of a
film, this can vary from simply a few teasers on YouTube, Facebook and
Twitter, to a new internet sensation.
‘Four Lions’ (2010) had a budget of
just £2.5m, and mostly relied on
viral marketing on the internet to
promote the film. Its controversial
nature also gained the film fame
across social media, which worked
in the film’s advantage. The film
was a success, reaching almost
£7m at the box office.
5. MARKETING CAMPAIGN OF ‘THE
DARK KNIGHT’ (2008)
The marketing campaign for ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ was famous for being extremely
ambitious; creating an internet sensation and a huge audience for the film. Although,
the film still adopted some of the more traditional methods of marketing, such as
through posters and trailers.
6. WHAT DID THE FILM’S VIRAL
ADVERTISING INVOLVE?
In 2007, Warner Bros initiated the viral marketing campaign
by setting up a “fake” newspaper named “The Gotham
Times” - an interactive document online designed to seem
realistic. However in Chicago, the paper was actually given
out as hard copies, which helped to promote the film. This
campaign utilised the film’s iconic tagline: “why so serious?”.
The site aimed to interest fans by having them earn what
they want to see. Emails sent by fans slowly removed pixels,
revealing the first official image of this incarnation of the
Joker.
7. …CONTINUED
During the 2007 San Diego Comic-Con International, 42 Entertainment
launched “WhySoSerious.com”, sending fans on a scavenger hunt to
unlock a teaser trailer and a new photo of the Joker. On October 31,
2007, the film’s website morphed into another scavenger hunt with
hidden messages, instructing fans to uncover clues at certain locations in
major cities throughout the United States, and to take photographs of
their discoveries. The clues combined to reveal a new photograph of the
Joker, as well as a sound clip of him saying “…and tonight, you’re gonna
break your one rule.”
Also, a website by the name of “ibelieveinharveydent.com” (Harvey Dent
being a politician in the Batman universe), was set up dedicated to
generating a public interest in the film. “I believe in Harvey Dent”
promotional packs (seen right) were sent to those who had registered on
this page.
As more images of Heath Ledger’s Joker became revealed, the website
became defaced (seen right) to reflect the villain’s anarchistic nature.
