Marketing is the lifeblood that can either ensure a movie is a monster hit or, if implemented poorly, a complete flop; it is a lot more important than the average punter might realise, for subtle elements of a campaign's tone and style - such as which genders and races are on the posters, for instance - can have a huge influence on who distributors perceive will end up seeing their film. In the last 15 years or so, so-called "viral marketing" has also become an essential part of movie advertising, relying on the tremendous power that the Internet gives marketing teams to come up with imaginative ads that catch on worldwide throughout the web. A bad movie campaign will sink a movie quickly regardless of its quality, and those campaigns are promptly forgotten, whereas the cleverest of the bunch will likely be remembered for decades. Here are the 10 best movie marketing campaigns ever.
10. The Simpsons Movie - Kwik-E-Mart
The Simpsons Movie was hugely anticipated prior to its release in 2007, and to be fair, Fox probably didn't need to roll out a whole lot of advertising to make the film a considerable success. Their viral campaign began small, with the website offering things like a virtual tour of Springfield, before they
really started ramping their game up, by offering a competition for a lucky contestant to have a cameo in a Simpson's episode, and also starting a contest to see which town called Springfield worldwide - of which there are many - The Simpsons Movie premiere would be hosted in. The best was yet to come, though; convenience stores throughout America were sent Kwik-E-Mart branding - even Kwik-E-Mart products in store! - to transform their storefronts temporarily and promote the movie at the same time, likely doing good business for both the stores and the movies. Who
wouldn't go in a Kwik-E-Mart if they walked past one?