Most Successful Advertising Campaigns in History

Currently, I am in the process of getting my bachelors in Broadcast and Electronic Communication Arts. I am focusing on video production, of course, but an aspect of this major that lies beneath the seams is marketing. If I am unable to get my "dream job" (side bar... there is no such thing as a dream job in my opinion, it is a false hope created by capitalism) or if my "dream job" does not exist, then I can successfully find a place in marketing.

By being media literate, one can become a master of media marketing and advertising. I thought it would be interesting to do a quick overview of the most successful advertising campaigns in the movie industry to see what strategies work best and how to generate a following.

1. The Blair Witch Project

Okay, so I was one year old when this movie came out, but it was so iconic that younger generations like myself still pay attention to it. The movie, spoiler alert, is supposed to mimic a homemade documentary about a witch found in the woods and the people that go missing as a result. It terrified a lot of people and got many people who aren't horror movie enthusiasts to go to the movie theater, spend their hard earned money, and watch.

It may seem like a basic ad campaign today, but this strategy was virtually unheard of in the distant past of 1999. They made it seem like a serious documentary by creating a website explaining the history and legend of the Blair Witch. Short clips of news footage, photos, and interviews suggested that the witch was real rather than just a movie campaign. MISSING posters were even created to add to the brilliant scheme. A movie that took almost no money to make ended up becoming one of the most iconic films and iconic campaigns in history.

2. Paranormal Activity

Paranormal Activity now has a series of movies and deemed a cult classic. It started out as any other indie film, costing just $15,000 to make (in the world of filmmaking, this is almost nothing). It ended up making almost $200 million at the box office. The key to their strategy was the integration of the audience. The trailers for the movie consisted of night vision cameras that showed an audience in fear and promoted a scary movie experience. They essentially made the movie experience a democracy by requiring that those who would like to see the movie had to go on a website and vote to bring Paranormal Activity to their city. The urgency of this task drove participation and continued the popularity of "found footage" films.

3. Borat

So far there has been a trend in how authentic and real the experience is for the viewer that determines the film's success, and this is no different for Borat. Sacha Baron Cohen wasn't very well known in the United States before Borat first came out. This enabled him to better convince his audience that his persona he created was real. Cohen did a press tour while staying entirely in character. Many were left confused after the movie trying to determine which parts were real and what was staged. Lawsuits were even filed after some participants saw the movie and felt tricked by the false persona.

4. Cloverfield

Cloverfield used The Blair Witch Project as an inspiration for not only their filmmaking strategy. but also the marketing strategy. In the first release of the trailer they essentially gave nothing away, not even the name of the movie. The audience was left guessing what the movie was about. Secrecy led speculation of a sequel to an already popular film, a horror movie, a natural disaster movie, an action flick, and the list goes on. The found footage film has led to many sequels and has maintained the same strategy with those films too.

5. Deadpool

Okay, so they had the advantage as having the already massively famous and handsome Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool BUT the marketing team took advantage of all media outlets possible. They broke all the traditional marketing rules and generated unbelievable hype for this movie. A lot of the ads were unconventional and inappropriate, poking fun at a cliches and breaking the fourth wall. Billboards, videos, parody posters, fake feuds with Wolverine, PSAs about testicular cancer, and so much more proved that social media can really carry a movie. There was even an ad that framed it as a love story so boyfriends can convince their girlfriends to see it on Valentine's Day. Ryan Reynolds also helped spread word of the film on his own personal social media accounts. From this we can learn that you can never go overboard on social media.

6. Psycho

Probably the oldest movie on the list, Psycho created the outline for film marketing strategies we still use today. Hitchcock broke the rules and did not show the movie to critics before it's official release. He made them watch the movie with everyone else. The actors were also not allowed to hold interviews about the movie, leaving the audience in the dark. To see what the movie was about and if it was actually a good film, they had to go see for themselves. He also bought the rights to the book, and purchased every copy he could to stop people from figuring out the plot and ending. Hitchcock was very particular about the marketing, and sent each theater instructions to not let anyone in after the movie starts and to have security guards present to create more of a shock value. By appealing to his target audience, this low budget film has remained an iconic film in history.

---

Now that we have multiple platforms to use for promotion, the possibilities for marketing are endless. Remember to always break the rules, don't be afraid of going overboard, keep your audience guessing, and make the experience as authentic as possible. You don't need a huge budget to have a successful film, you simply need a killer marketing strategy.