No Joking Matter…
The tragic and untimely death of actor Heath Ledger actually has some serious implications in the media and advertising world. Not only must his death make Warner Bros. executives scratch their heads about how to move forward with the viral marketing campaign for the upcoming “Dark Knight” Batman film, which stars with Ledger as “The Joker,” but even President Bush is halting a prescription drug abuse ad campaign.
Set to launch tonight from the Roosevelt Room, White House Press Secretary Dana Perino was quoted as saying, “We thought it would be better to postpone the event rather than run the risk of anyone thinking that we were being opportunistic in highlighting the issue.” According to recent a Wall Street Journal article, Ledger’s Joker was the central theme to the movie’s viral marketing campaign, ranging from the online site and games to the actual poster for the film.
Since the viral marketing article I wrote for our September 2007 issue was published, I can think of two recent examples where viral marketing has shown its strength. Office Max’s ‘Elf Yourself’ campaign increased the site’s traffic more than tenfold from last year as 26.4 million Americans interacted with the brand this holiday season. The latter example is the marketing genius behind the advertising for the new thriller “Cloverfield.” Mixing Blair Witch tactics with a Hollywood budget, “Cloverfield” has kept audiences guessing what the film is even about.
The less is more, push-to-the-web approach proved hugely successful for the film as it broke MLK weekend box-office records, making $41 million. This proves how important the details of a marketing campaign can be to the success of a film.
If you were an advertising executive at Warner Bros., how would you handle Heath Ledger’s death as it ties to their Batman brand and upcoming film?
Pat Cauley, eMedia Editor, Electronic Retailer Magazine
Tags: batman, cloverfield, elf yourself, heath ledger, office max, pat cauley, the dark knight, the joker, viral marketing, warner bros.
January 24th, 2008 at 7:20 pm
I just read the latest report from CNN which was simultaniuosly brodcasted in the New York Time databank and should be front page news tomorrow. Apparently the Medical Examiners report was released to the family today. It showed that there was no trace of illegal substances in Heath Ledger’s body and there was only a small trace of 2 drugs that were found in his room, thus ruling out overdose. The report goes on to state that “it appears Mr Ledger suffered a mild stroke that rendered him unconcious”. They are now reporting that it was complications resulting from the stroke that caused Heath Ledger’s death. They have not released any details beyond what I have just shared with you, however I am sure it will be well known with in the hour. In today’s society where journalism revolves around a jumble of half truths, I think the media has shown alot of class when dealing with this sensitive subject. I have read many reports speculating that “drugs may be a factor” however with each report came a disclaimer stating no evidence could support that theory. I appreciate the respect the media has shown to the family and friends of Heath Ledger and the acknoledgment of his vast accomplishments as an actor.
January 24th, 2008 at 8:26 pm
If I were a marketing director, either I would 1) focus on a tribute to Heath Ledger and his role as Joker, maybe releasing lots of interviews about his role before the movie starts playing, and maybe interviews with the other actors in the movie about their experience working with Heath, or I would 2) try to focus exclusively on playing up the other actors in the movie, and hope that general media attention about Heath will continue to generate interest about his part in the movie. The risks of the second approach may be that people may criticize the studio for trying to suppress the bad publicity that any star’s death brings, while the risk of the first approach if not done well would be that people would criticize the studio for taking advantage of the publicity his death would bring. I think if done sincerely and tastefully that the first would generate a lot of attention and gratefulness from the fan base. The strengths of the second approach would be to not exhaust the fan base’s attention span by too much attention paid to Heath over Christian. One could even combine the two approaches by early on in the marketing focusing on Heath’s roles, and then later in the marketing to redirect the focus toward Christian, with continued respectful acknowledgment of Heath’s role.
January 25th, 2008 at 8:09 am
The tragic and sudden death of Heath Ledger, in a nutshell, has left us all in shock. I still cannot believe it. However, it is a comfort to know that he has two movies to be released this year. So if I were an Advertising Executive from Warner Bros., I would play with that anticipation by celebrating Heath’s Ledger’s role. Already, I think people are looking forward to seeing Dark Knight because it was one of his last film appearances. So we get to see his talent one more time and bring him back to life on the screen, even though he plays a psychopath. I’ll tell you right now, Dark Knight is going to have excellent gross sales, not only because I’m sure the movie will be as good as Batman Returns, but because the American public wants to see Heath Ledger one more time. The Advertising Execs will definitely have to alter their Marketing Campaign but they should use the campaign as a way to unveil and celebrate Heath Ledger’s final role.
January 28th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
The death of Heath Ledger has obviously come to a shock to everyone that has known him privately or had the great privilege of working with him. However, the other group of individuals that seem to be greatly affected by his passing are those that never had the pleasure of meeting this kind soul. However, he seems to have touched us so deeply that we feel as if we have lost an old friend. I am learning that so many people feel the same. That was the power of Heath Ledger.
He flew under the radar in Hollywood. He was not an “in your face” kind of actor. He was an A-list actor without the circus that comes along with that status. He loved his work and he was private in his life. We knew he was amazing on screen, but little did we know that he had completely won our hearts without pushing himself upon us.
The Dark Knight belongs to Ledger and should be marketed as such. Give the fans their friend in all his glory for what is sure to be a performance of a lifetime.
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