This. is. awesome.
Adweek reports that Vince Vaughn and his costars of #UnfinishedBusiness posed for goofy #StarStock photos to help promote their movie. As all marketers know, there’s nothing worse than a cheesy stock photo of group of coworkers smiling, fist-pumping or sitting around looking at a computer. And they are offering these photos for free!
It’s fun to see publicists trying new ways to promote movies. The traditional movie trailer has been around for more than 100 years…since 1913 to be exact. There’s nothing wrong with trailers…and when they are coupled with guerrilla marketing tactics like this, it can really beef up the awareness of a movie.
I saw the photos on Facebook, where I shared them and saw countless others sharing them too. Soon, Vince Vaughn became a trending topic. If I didn’t know that Vince Vaughn had a new movie out, I do now.
What makes it even better is that it pokes fun of something marketers use regularly…stock photos! We all use them, but hate to admit it. I even wrote about ways to get away from using stock photos.
This PR stunt reminds me of when Anchorman 2 came out last year. Will Ferrell plays news anchor Ron Burgundy in the sequel to the hilariously funny Anchorman. To promote the movie, Will Ferrell (as Ron Burgundy) does an entire 30 minute newscast at a local station in North Dakota.
He also stars in several commercials, again, as Ron Burgundy, to promote Dodge cars and trucks.
The lines have been blurred between what is actually content and what is advertising. Some don’t like the constant feel of being marketed too, but when its done in a lighthearted way, I think it works.
One Kansas Girl 