io9
We couldn't be more excited about Batman: The Dark Knight... or more sick of Warner Bros.' marketing campaign for the movie. When it was just sky-writing planes over Comic-Con and "Jokerized" dollar bills, we were sort of amused. But when Warner started baking Joker-cakes, we got indigestion. A gallery of weird schwag and a rundown of crazed marketing, after the jump.
The cake-baking was our first clue that Warners had gone over the edge. The viral marketing for Knight involved following clues on various websites, which led you to even more websites, which led you to phone lines. Eventually you would be led to a bakery, where you could pick up a free mystery cake. Baked inside the cake was a cell phone, and further instructions. Thankfully, no one actually ingested one of the phones. We can just imagine the lawsuits.
Now, they're taking things in a strangely different direction, by sending muddied novelty packages to people like rock-lite star John Mayer, who promptly posted about the thing on his blog. Is it any surprise that Mayer's label is Warner Music? No, no really. So what are they trying to prove by having their own artists shill the goods and drink the kool-aid?
This reminds us about what Kevin Smith said at Comic-Con last year. It's not like Steven Spielberg has to come down to the Con and promise everyone free handjobs to go see Indy IV. People will go see it regardless. The Dark Knight probably falls into that same camp, right? We just wonder what marketing ploy they'll pull off next. Will Heath Ledger come to your house in Joker-wear and spend the night with you? It could still happen.
Cool Stuff: Dark Knight Promotional Items From The Joker [/Film]
Comments
With all these clues and more clues leading to more clues, it's like the fucking National Treasure of viral marketing.
I actually find the marketing campaign kind of fun. I mean, when was the last time you saw a movie go this far out there to get people continuously hyped for something? Well, other than Cloverfield that is, but I think that is in an entirely different category altogether. Comic fans love Batman, they loved Batman Begins. So now they're immersed in the hype for The Dark Knight. Let 'em have some fun!
Kevin Smith spoke out against excessive tie-in marketing and promotion? Weird .
A. My friend made a Dark Knight cake and it's much prettier than the real one.
B. Having Heath Ledger spend the night with me would be the best marketing scheme ever.
That being said, it's true. I wish they would take all of the gajillions of dollars they're spending to market movies that are already going to make gajillions of dollars and spend it on making smaller, but equally awesome films.
Well I want Heath Ledger to show up at my house in full Joker garb to spend the night.
In all seriousness, I've found the marketing campaign amusing and it really does play right into the hands of some of the intended audience.
I'm glad I missed all this crap. It would totally kill my jones for this movie.
I think the whole "slipping one card into decks a hundred or so years in advance" thing was just awesomely long-sighted and couldn't have been better implemented.
@Ju-osh: No, he spoke out against mega-flicks like Indiana Jones IV and Star Trek needing to have clever viral marketing. Kevin's flicks could use the extra audiences, so watch out, they might be mailing out jars of Jason Mewes' bottled farts to let you know about his next movie.
I think that is a Robert Smith T Shirt (the Cure)? I had one some years ago
I guess Batman Begins didn't do well enough with the vital "obsessive-compulsive" demographic...
Sub-title for the Joker t-shirt - "I ran into the Joker and lived"
It reminds me of the old "I ran into Tammy Faye at the Mall" t-shirts...
@strider_mt2k: Agreed. That's some long sighted marketing exec right there.
Is there going to be an attempt by Joker any time soon?!?
I definitely thought that the last day, when Heath Ledger came in, robbed everyone, and blew up The San Diego Convention Center, was a little excessive personally.
@92BuickLeSabre:
Sometimes marketing execs have trouble with knowing when to stop.
I wonder what the back of those "Joker Dollers" look like...
Would suck if the back of them looked semi normal and were passed around the convention as real
@JoeyTheHobo: There seems to be an attitude at times within the advertising industry that marketing to the point of annoyance is not only GOOD marketing, it's the *BEST* marketing. Do you think mobile phone companies keep their commercial mascot spokesbeings because any audience *likes* them anymore?
Kicking the dead horse is the marketing gold standard these days.
methinks you meant "no, not really" and not "no, no really"
Wow, folks are being a little harsh on this. What's wrong with a little ARG now and then?
Didn't y'all read Wired this month? Don't you remember Cloudmakers/The Beast?
Sure its viral marketing, but its viral marketing for something we're all probably going to see anyway. So that makes it BONUS FUN. Who doesn't like BONUS FUN? What's a Sci-Fi website doing dissing an ARG, even an ARG-lite anyway?
Really now.
Why so serious?
@RagingTowers: If I recall correctly, they were real dollars, just with the Joker drawn in marker over them, and they weren't so much passed out at the convention as they were handed over as change by merchants (wether consciously or not, probably half and half).
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