Viral Video for “In Time” Feels Familiar…For A Reason Dan Koelsch, October 28, 2011March 4, 2013 A video hit the Internet this week that showed a guy taking a chainsaw to a parking meter. While this was definitely a cool sight, many people thought it was fake. Either way, the video got over half a million views on YouTube. So, what makes this MovieViral material? The “extended cut” was released yesterday, revealing the video to be a marketing stunt for In Time. Why does this sound familiar to our faithful readers? Find out after the break. You may remember an article we wrote back in March about a similar viral stunt for the film Limitless. The same marketing ploy is used both times. First, an interesting video is posted on a new YouTube channel a week or so before the movie it is promoting and goes viral. Just from watching the video, you would not realize it was a promotional stunt. In the case of Limitless, it was someone hacking the jumbotron at Time Square. The video got over a million views and was featured on many prominent websites. Then, a day or so before the movie is released in theaters, a second video is released that expands on the first and reveals what it is promoting.We talked about the backlash the Limitless videos got in our article, so it is a bit surprising to see the marketing company, Thinkmodo, try it again. However, this time the response (at least in terms of comments and thumbs) has been surprisingly good in the early going, but we’ll have to wait and see if that holds out in the long term. What do you guys think? Is this bait-and-switch viral video stunt effective marketing? Watch the two In Time viral videos below.In Time opens today in theaters. Follow the sci-fi film on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Thanks to Michael Fisher for the heads up! Viral Marketing Viral Videos In TimeLimitlessPrankThinkmodoViral video
YouTube Tuesday: samseed85 July 17, 2012We at MovieViral know our viral videos pretty well, so we decided to share our knowledge to those looking to expand their Internet horizons. YouTube Tuesday is a weekly feature where we shine the spotlight on our favorite YouTube channels related to movies and television. We focus on channels that… Read More
Statler and Waldorf Take Over Twitter September 20, 2011September 20, 2011Briefly: Everyone’s favorite trolls, the grumpy old Muppets Statler and Waldorf, have taken over the Muppets Studio Twitter account after a “random drawing”. Check out the feed for such gems as “We’re not exactly sure how Twitter works, but Fozzie doesn’t know how a joke works and it never stopped… Read More
Viral Video: 28 Drinks Later January 22, 2010January 22, 201028 Days Later is one of my favorite films (I admit I have a soft spot for zombie flicks). I’ve seen a few parodies of the film before, but this one is so far my favorite. Originally featured on Funny or Die, 28 Drinks Later tells the story of a… Read More