Though I miss the days where it was possible to go into a movie having absolutely no prior knowledge about it besides the trailers, I’m also a vocal supporter of this still relatively new trend of viral marketing. It’s nice to see some creativity on display in advertising campaigns for a change.
For a recent example, look no further than Martin McDonagh’s Seven Psychopaths, due out in theaters exactly one month from now.
As Coming Soon points out, an in-character Twitter account (@PsychoCostello) has been made for one of its characters, Charlie Costello, played by Woody Harrelson. Found within his Tweets is a flyer with details regarding his missing dog, Bonny (not Bonnie!).
And at the bottom is a phone number which, if called, plays a message. But, rather than a simple advertisement of the upcoming film, callers get an in-character voice-mail recording from Costello, reasserting what was said in the flyer.
Before this, I had already planned on seeing Seven Psychopaths in theaters, unabashedly adoring McDonagh’s freshman effort In Bruges. Now, my anticipation level has risen even higher on the strength of this deceptively clever use of viral marketing.
Check it out below.
