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

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