Skip to content
MovieViral.com
MovieViral.com

The Latest Viral News for Films and Beyond!

  • Home
  • Archives
  • Movie & Viral News
    • Cloverfield Sequel
    • Reviews
    • Trailers Weekly
    • Past Viral Campaigns
  • About
    • About MovieViral
    • Meet the Team
    • Contact
  • ARG & Unfiction Forum
MovieViral.com
MovieViral.com

The Latest Viral News for Films and Beyond!

Director Starts Independent Viral for “Robot & Frank” on Tumblr

Caleb Hamilton, August 10, 2012August 10, 2012

Here at MovieViral we are usually writing about viral campaigns for big budget films that are run by studios or outsourced to firms like 42 Entertainment. Well, when you make and independent film, your budget is usually very small, so there isn’t a lot of money to market your film with an extensive viral campaign. However, with social media, an indie viral campaign can be run on networks like Tumblr for little or no money. That’s what director Jake Schreier is doing for his new film, Robot & Frank.

Robot & Frank is a film about a retired jewel thief (played by Frank Langella) who is losing his memory. His two children (played by Liv Tyler and James Marsden) are having a hard time taking care of him, so they buy their dad a humanoid robot. That’s what Jake Schreier designed his campaign around, the elderly and the robot.

Using Tumblr, Schreier uploaded simple magazine/brochure ads, showing the different ways the VGC-60L can be of help. There isn’t much else to the viral, which is just fine, it gets the point across without too many bells and whistles (for example, VGC-60L.com just redirects to the film’s official site). Schreier had his friend Justin Ouellette, who designed the many user interfaces seen in the movie, build a flashy custom theme for the Tumblr based on his own popular theme. In an interview with Wired magazine, Schreier said:

“Part of the thing that triggered it is that people came out of the movie like, ‘I want one!’ If people are feeling it that strongly, then an ad campaign to basically sell just that one idea to them might be a good thing to tap into. And for anyone who thinks that’s creepy, then that’s also good, because that’s also something that catches you about the campaign and that’s something that the movie deals with.”

Schreier hopes that this campaign will get people thinking about robotic helpers and if they’d feel comfortable actually having one in their homes. However, this campaign isn’t as creepy as the reveal of David 8 during the Prometheus viral, partly because the VGC-60L isn’t totally an android with human features. But still, the idea of a robot taking care of our family can be off-putting to some. Check out more ads over on the Robot & Frank Tumblr. And check often as more ads will be uploaded as the film’s release draws closer.

Robot & Frank is out in select cities August 24th!

Source: Wired

ARGs & Campaigns Social Networks Viral Marketing IndependentRobot & FrankTumblrViral marketing

Post navigation

Previous post
Next post

Related Posts

“Mad Men” Press Release Goes Viral

June 17, 2013June 17, 2013

Mad Man has been described in many ways, and if you don’t believe me, just count the number of awards the show was earned throughout its televised run. But last night’s episode is the one that everyone seems to be talking about, something someone on facebook or twitter wold have…

Read More
Viral Marketing

Yoda Interviewed By ESPN Anchor For Star Wars Character Tournament

March 14, 2014

StarWars.com is running its This is Madness: Star Wars Character Tournament again this year. Last year Yoda beat out Darth Vader by 60% of the vote to become tournament champion. Will he be triumphant again in 2014? ESPN’s Max Kellerman interviews Yoda to get his insight on this year’s playing…

Read More

Learn About Captain America’s Shield In Featurette Sponsored By Norton

June 19, 2011

Symantec’s Norton antivirus and computer protection line of software is a staple in the tech industry, but it doesn’t hurt to team up with a summer blockbuster. Finding an enlightened connection between their software and Marvel’s Captain America, Norton brings us a featurette called “Behind the Shield” via their Facebook…

Read More

Coming Soon...

Join the MovieViral.com
ARG & Unfiction Forums



©2009-2025 MovieViral.com. The Sometimes Weekly Publishing Company.