Viral Marketing Backfires For Movie “The Fourth Kind”
“The Blair Witch Project.” “Paranormal Activity” Viral marketing has spurred the success of more than one horror movie. But Universal Studios found itself in hot water after its marketing for “The Fourth Kind” resulted in a lawsuit from several Alaskan newspapers.
When Viral Marketing Goes Bad
Universal created several phony online news archives in its viral marketing campaign for the movie starring Milla Jovovich. The controversy came from Universal’s decision to attribute these fake articles to real newspapers. The papers cried foul, and the studio ultimately coughed up a $22,500 settlement.
Hopefully the lesson is obvious: creating a viral marketing campaign does not excuse blatant lies, especially when these lies involve real people and real businesses with real reputations at stake.
Brainless … or Brilliant?
Frankly, I find Universal’s short-sightedness the scariest part of this (fictional) horror film. How can a group with a seven-figure marketing budget not see this coming?
Then again, $22K is chump change when you have seven figures … and the lawsuit generated some press of its own. So perhaps this isn’t a stupid mistake, but an incredibly brilliant strategy from Universal’s marketing team.
Either way, I think a FirstShowing.net reviewer sums it up best: “The Fourth Kind thinks you’re an idiot.”
What do you think?
2 Responses to Viral Marketing Backfires For Movie “The Fourth Kind”
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I love bold, newsworthy marketing when it comes to movies, but this promotion mix was simply weak and half-baked.
Universal practically begged us to believe the story. When we didn’t — they just lied to us more.
Brainless.
Thanks, Tyler. Love how you summed it up on your blog: “Why can’t we just enjoy a story because it’s a good story, or are Hollywood writers just doing a poor job of creating fictional characters with the depth and complexity of real people?”
I wonder too! Are screenwriters really that hard-pressed for stories?