Trayvon Martin Case Affects Marketing For Fox’s “Neighborhood Watch” Dan Koelsch, March 28, 2012March 28, 2012 You might not think that the public discourse on the Trayvon Martin shooting would have much impact on Hollywood, but there has been an unexpected result. 20th Century Fox has had to change their marketing for their upcoming sci-fi comedy Neighborhood Watch. Get the details after the jump. Just over a month ago, black teenager Trayvon was walking home from a convenience store in Florida when white latino George Zimmerman, head of his neighborhood watch, followed and eventually shot him after a struggle. There has been a lot of national discussion pertaining to the details of the events, especially the fact that Zimmerman was not (and still has not) been arrested. Questionable Florida laws, possible racism, and more have been at the forefront of the discussion.With the concept of neighborhood watch being so closely connected to Zimmerman at the moment, 20th Century Fox has pulled their poster and teaser from Florida theaters. While some may think this may be overkill on face value, it’s important to note that the promotional image for the film is of an altered neighborhood watch sign full of dents from bullet impacts. Also, this kind of change isn’t all that unique, as THR reports.It’s not the first time a Hollywood studio has had to alter a marketing campaign or a release date because of real-life events. After the Japan earthquake last year, Warner Bros. pulled Hereafter — which re-creates the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami disaster — from theaters in Japan. In 2003, the release of Fox’s sniper pic Phone Booth was delayed after the Beltway sniper case.Fortunately, the film’s sci-fi plot involving aliens coupled with its late July release (4 months away) should save it from being delayed, altered, or performing poorly at the box office. The studio is moving forward with their next phase of marketing, which emphasizes the comedy aspect of the film along with its stars, which include Vince Vaughn, Ben Stiller, and Jonah Hill.What do you think? Will the Trayvon Martin case hurt the marketing or box office performance for Neighborhood Watch? Let us know in the comments below. Viral Marketing 20th Century FoxNeighborhood WatchTrayvon Martin
Apollo 18: New Documents Revealed August 21, 2011Two weeks ago the Apollo 18 viral campaign started back up, and now we have three new documents that seem to be innocuous, but since one looks to be in Russian, we can’t be sure. Check out the updates for the lunar thriller after the break. Read More
Could New Spider-Man Set Photos Lead To A Viral? January 18, 2011The Internet was aflutter over new set photos from the upcoming Spider-Man reboot, and while most people are trying to get a glimpse of Spidey in action, its a more mundane image that caught my eye. Could Sony be looking to start a viral campaign for the Web-Slinger? Read More
Encom Press Conference and Protest Live Feed April 2, 2010April 2, 2010The Tron Legacy Operation Tron viral event starts at 6:30pm tonight! If you aren’t able to make it to the San Francisco Encom Press Conference or Protest meeting, you’re in luck, because we have a live feed of the event, courtesy of 4DFiction. Check out the streaming video (which begins… Read More