Horror Film Slithers Online with “Slug it Out” Campaign
Horror flicks nowadays mean big bucks at the box office, and while the flood of remakes Hollywood spits out don’t really wave the flag for originality, Universal’s “Slither” ably picks up the slack in both storyline and marketing scheme. The film, which centers on a small, peaceful town suddenly besieged by an alien plague, turning its residents into zombies and mutants, is sure to be filled with gruesome effects and assorted creepy crawlies.
So in appropriate fashion, the marketing heads behind NBC Universal decided to parlay the skin-crawling theme into an online campaign, sparing no creative ammo when it came time to build buzz for the film’s March 31st release. The online campaign’s most recent phase — called, natch, “Slug it Out” — was launched in late February and gave fans and filmmaking neophytes the opportunity to produce their own 30-second TV trailer using video and audio clips from “Slither”—all cut from the teaser on the film’s official site.
The winning clip in turn could win its creator $25,000 and potentially end up in NBC Universal’s media buy. Regarding the concept, NBC Universal spokesman Doug Neil tells ADOTAS, “We had identified our target audience as being very web-savvy and as such – wanted to develop a campaign that reached them in unique, but appropriate ways. We’ve focused on developing concepts which engage our audience around the content and get them excited to see the film.”
The option to enter the contest portion has officially closed. But while the 25 semifinalists have been chosen and winners will be selected next week, Neil says the opportunity to interact and create is still open. “We will continue to allow individuals to interact with the ‘spot-generator’ and have fun creating their own ads. This tool uses Flash to build the commercial.” He adds, “We have seen some very creative and engaging submissions.”
As for the components lurking beyond “Slug it Out”, the official site itself offers a bloody good assortment of interactive items, from a “Hunting Season” game – where you shoot slugs to accumulate points, a “Slug Board” with audio soundbytes from the film, as well a downloadable “Brenda pet” that explodes when you feed her meat. Besides these fun, twisted features, there are more subdued, send-to-a-friend trimmings including AIM icons, Winamp skins and wallpapers to stick onto your desktop.
Along with the landing page and its diabolical treats, Klipmart, Flash and Eyeblaster-aided “Slither” banners, pre-roll, takeovers and peelback ads have invaded a horde of sites including Yahoo, IGN, WWE, MySpace and Maxim.com.
The squeamish (or humorless) might take issue with the “Slither” online promotion, but then again, those folks don’t comprise the mostly 18-34 horror audience. That audience, according to Universal’s Neil, has already clicked with the contest, banners and assorted features. “We’ve had an incredibly positive response so far,” he boasts, citing several blogger reactions as proof.
Embodying all the classic elements of a midnight monster film, “Slither” is part camp comedy, part “Night of the Living Dead”, part “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” and, from the looks of the trailer and online campaign, wholly entertaining. Whether the film’s a big hit or not, the film’s marketing strategies have proven successful in resonating with fright fans thanks in large part to its online “slug”-fest.
But just make sure to stay out of the tub.
Want to join in on the slimy fun? Visit www.slithermovie.net
Reader Comments.
No comments yet
Leave a Comment
Article Sponsor
More Features
-
Loading ...
Latest News
- Covario Issues Annual Client Awards for SEO/SEM Success February 10th 2012 ADOTAS - Search engine marketing/SEO services provider Covario issued the [...] more »
- BlueKai Report Explains DMPs to Publishers February 10th 2012 ADOTAS - BlueKai released a report this week on the [...] more »
- Funding in Brief: $10M for Spongecell, $8M for Prolexic February 9th 2012 ADOTAS – Rich media ad company Spongecell has raised $10 million [...] more »
- Google AdMob Axes Minimum Bids, Targeting Fees February 9th 2012 ADOTAS - As of Feb. 15, Google will change its [...] more »
- Infographic: HootSuite Analyses Social Media Impact of Super Bowl Ads February 7th 2012 ADOTAS - So, it’s the Tuesday after the Super Bowl, [...] more »
- Facebook to Serve Mobile Ads in Coming Weeks February 6th 2012 ADOTAS – According to a Financial Times report, Facebook will [...] more »
- Survey: 39 Percent of Mobile Users Responded to Super Bowl Ads Via Mobile February 6th 2012 ADOTAS - During the Super Bowl yesterday, mobile ad network [...] more »
Features
- Infographic: The Online Ad Industry Is Like the Stock Market February 10th 2012
- Mobile Search: More Intent, More SMB Opportunity February 10th 2012
- BlueKai Report Explains DMPs to Publishers February 10th 2012
- Attribution Online: Introducers and Influencers and Closers… Oh My! February 9th 2012
- With gTLDs, Global Branding Starts with a Name February 9th 2012
Spotlight
Sponsormob Leads the Way Into RTB for MobileADOTAS – For more than half a decade, Berlin-based tech firm Sponsormob has remained relevant in an industry characterized by [...] more...
Reader Favorites
Classifieds
- PS Technical Writer - SEO Data Analyst
- Interactive Project Manager
- Media Buyer
- PHP Software Engineer (Facebook Platform/Social AP
- SEO/Marketing Internship at Green Education Startu
Recent Comments
- HootSuite Social Media Management » More Apps, Open API, and the Solution Partner Program ~ News Roundup: [...] mentioned in our HootSuite’s Super Bowl XLVI Social Media Recap, adotas and MediaPost analyzed our
- News about Google Adwords issue #412: [...] ads for AdWords to adCenter and align with industry standards, adCenter has chang
- VB: What exactly makes an ad "high quality"?
- Survey: 39 Percent of Mobile Users Responded to Super Bowl Ads Via Mobile - ADOTAS | Mobile2 | Scoop.it: [...] background-position: 50% 0px; background-color:#222222; background-repeat : no-repeat; }
