10 Best Movie Marketing Campaigns Ever

4. Tron: Legacy

Tron Legacy

For a cult classic over 20 years old, Tron has had an uphill battle when it comes to securing and expanding its legacy. While games and comics were employed to tell stories within the world of Kevin Flynn, Alan Bradley, and Encom International; nothing really seemed to catch fire. That all changed at Comic Con 2008 when a test reel for "T2on" was snuck into the Walt Disney Pictures presentation reel for that years' show. The audience reaction to this clip was, if anything, ecstatic. Geeks seem to have the sequel they'd been waiting decades for to look forward to on the horizon, and Disney stoked the fires early. The next year at ComicCon, the "Flynn Lives" viral campaign began with fans tracking down the mysterious location of a pop up Flynn's Arcade. From that point on, the viral went online with more games that lead to more meet ups and more material to create a world where Kevin Flynn was missing and his son was the prankster in charge. Avatar may have reached out to the fans by inviting them to see clips of the heavily guarded film, but Tron: Legacy upped the game by showing the whole film. Partnered with Norelco, Disney ran limited advanced screenings of Tron: Legacy in select IMAX 3D theaters. This took full advantage of the unique format, as well as the fact that most of the exterior/action shots in the digital world were filmed with full IMAX ratio. After all of the hard work and complicated challenges involved in setting up an Online/Real Life Alternate Reality Game, Tron: Legacy had earned its place on this list with flying colors.
 
Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

Mike Reyes may or may not be a Time Lord, but he's definitely the Doctor Who editor here at What Culture. In addition to his work at What Culture, Mr. Reyes writes for Cocktails and Movies, as well as his own personal blogs Mr. Controversy and The Bookish Kind. On top of that, he's also got a couple Short Stories and Novels in various states of completion, like any good writer worth their salt. He resides in New Jersey, and compiles his work from all publications on his Facebook page.