Though it may be hard to believe as you walk down the street and see a hobbit peering down at you from every bus that passes, sometimes a simple movie poster isn't enough to grab your attention anymore. Studios will stop at nothing in order to shovel a few more pennies into the coffers, including - as we will see - letting innocent shoppers waiting for a lift soil themselves with fear as they play witness to a murder (seriously). Say what you like about the film industry, but they're certainly not burdened with an excess of subtlety. Through the course of this piece, we shall have a look at the attempts to garner publicity for a film that are off-the-wall, off-their-heads and some that occupy that very thin line between utter madness and maverick genius. These include the birth of the internet legend, free drugs, a treasure hunt that made sense only to the 13 people who bothered to watch the movie, and letting a cinema full of horrified popcorn munchers genuinely think they were about to be massacred. It goes without saying that some of these tactics were infinitely more successful than others. The best kind of publicity stunts make you desperate to see a film, even if you haven't heard any of the buzz about it beforehand. Have a read through the list and let us know if reading about some of the lunacy within has whetted your appetite for any of the films in the comments thread at the end. Also, feel free to let us know about any we might've missed...