Thoughts
Forgetting Sarah Marshall Campaign
By Ciri Haugh
Similar to consumer products, movies have their own highly skilled publicity machines carefully crafting advertising and marketing strategies designed to sell movie tickets or DVDs. One such movie, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, out in theaters April 18, has been advertising relentlessly. Targeting the same audiences as films such as the 40-Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up –17-to-40-year-olds – Forgetting Sarah Marshall, a Judd Apatow production, is utilizing new social media elements that many companies are starting to adopt with their own advertising campaigns. While some of the publicity channels that Universal Studios utilized to promote the film online are not revolutionary, they are a great example of how to use new media while incorporating traditional advertising.
Most movies rely on the same formula for advertising – a trailer, a movie poster and a Web site (or page on the studio’s site). With Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Universal integrated this traditional method of movie advertising with well-known new media sites like MySpace, Flickr and YouTube. Forgetting Sarah Marshall takes the viral element to a different level by not only utilizing popular sites but forwards the comedic element of the plot line that revolves around one man’s journey to get over his ex.
To get an understanding of how these elements complement each other, it’s important to review the Forgetting Sarah Marshall campaign’s core element – the traditional advertisement. Most of the ads produced by Universal have plain white backgrounds and black lettering that say things like, “You DO look fat in those pants, Sarah Marshall” or “I’m SO over you, Sarah Marshall.” Unless consumers have a prior knowledge of the movie, it’s hard to tell what the ads are promoting unless you visit the site at the bottom of each sign: www.ihatesarahmarshall.com. Viewers that don’t know the movie are encouraged to view the Web site of a clearly disgruntled ex-boyfriend. Either way, the advertisements are meant to entice both audiences to visit the site.
Because advertisers can’t guarantee their efforts will touch everyone in their target – the Forgetting Sarah Marshall ads only appear in major metropolitan cities – Universal ensured further reach by suggesting ideas to their locally-owned NBC news stations. These stories, which find real women named Sarah Marshall in various cities across the country and gauge their reactions to the ads, help create awareness of the ads and the details of the movie.
Furthermore, the link within the ads leads to a viral site, sponsored by Universal, which acts as the main character’s blog. Here you can learn about his relationship misfortunes and see his many ways of coping. The blog ultimately follows the setup for the movie by starting with posts that glorify the Sarah Marshall character then transition to posts that mirror the stages of grief by someone who has been rejected – with a humorous spin, of course. Interestingly, many of the entries on the blog explain the advertising and other viral elements of the campaign within the story line of the character.
Although the physical advertisements may be the most recognizable part of Universal’s program, the movie’s accompanying viral sites are some of the most interesting pieces of the campaign. The main character’s blog is an independent site, and it also can be accessed through the main page of the movie’s Web site, www.forgettingsarahmarshall.com. This site links every main viral site for the campaign, including a fan site for the Sarah Marshall character, a MySpace page for “Sarah’s” new boyfriend’s band and a site for Sarah Marshall’s TV show. Each of these sites not only link back to each other and the main movie site but continue to forward the initial plot of the movie, offering consumers a deeper look into the characters. Additionally, each viral site utilizes other tools or links to popular social networking sites. For example, within the main character’s blog, you’ll find YouTube video diaries from the main character as well as a Flickr page hosting pictures of the advertisements (which in the viral campaign, are labeled as graffiti produced by the heartbroken main character).
What’s genius about all of the various advertising is that each piece complements the others, while forwarding the initial setup for the movie’s plot. The sophisticated campaign is designed to utilize the comedic elements of the story without spoiling the entire movie for the potential viewer. Although the results of the full campaign have yet to be seen (at least during the time of this article’s inception), the ads and viral marketing never lose sight of their purpose – to generate interest for the movie.
As for me, I’m sold! Though my decision to see Forgetting Sarah Marshall was solidified by the initial trailer, the effort put into this campaign only further piques my interest. Here’s hoping it gets four stars – or at least a witty one-line review from Peter Travers!
If you are interested in exploring the Forgetting Sarah Marshall links for yourself, here they are:
- Forgetting Sarah Marshall main movie site: www.forgettingsarahmarshall.com
- Peter Bretter’s blog: www.ihatesarahmarshall.com
- Sarah Marshall’s fan site: http://www.sarahmarshallfan.com/
- Sarah’s show, Crime Scene: Scene of the Crime: http://www.nbc.com/Crime_Scene/
- Sarah’s boyfriend, Aldous Snow’s, band Infant Sorrow: http://www.myspace.com/officialinfantsorrow
- MySpace Forgetting Sarah Marshall page: http://www.myspace.com/forgettingsarahmarshall
- Peter’s YouTube page: http://www.youtube.com/user/composerpeter
- Peter’s Flickr for Sarah Marshall graffiti: http://www.flickr.com/groups/ihatesarahmarshallgraffiti/
- Forgetting Sarah Marshall wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forgetting_Sarah_Marshall
E-mail the author: Ciri Haugh
