Bizarre Product Placement: James Bond to Drive a Fiat Econobox

According to an article on Bloomberg, James Bond will slip behind the wheel of, ahem, a Fiat Panda:

The Fiat Panda, one of Fiat SpA's cheapest models, will make its screen debut in the next James Bond film due in 2006, replacing the luxury cars typically used by the secret agent such as Aston Martin's V12 Vanquish.

The Panda, which is priced from 12,490 euros ($15,379), 21 times less than the Vanquish, will have cinema's most famous secret agent behind the wheel in ``Casino Royale,'' the latest installment of the James Bond saga.

Sony Releases Extended 'Stealth' Preview for TiVo Users

According to Jaffe Juice, Joseph Jaffe recently discovered the first four minutes of 'Stealth' waiting for him in his "My TiVo" showcase:

My TiVo showcase offered me the opportunity to watch the first 4 minutes of the just released action movie, Stealth. Obviously the idea here is to show a bit of skin to the audience (and what better way than an action-packed opening sequence...remember Saving Private Ryan?) and have them salivating at the mouth wanting more....

Universal announces 'King Kong' Affinity MasterCard

According to the 'Kong is King' fan site, Universal is planning to issue a limited edition King Kong MasterCard on October 1st:

The new card, an illustration of Kong on the the front, depicting a poignant moment on Skull Island, is the ultimate design for fans eagerly awaiting the release of the movie. Consumers may pre-register for the card by visiting the official KING KONG movie website and clicking on 'Get the Card' - and in the months leading up to the film, have the opportunity to receive King Kong theatrical updates, sneak-peeks at Limited Edition Kong merchandise and much more.

Sony Pictures teams up with Maven Networks to promote 'Stealth' via Broadband

According to a joint press release issued today, Sony Pictures is teaming up with Maven Networks, a company that specializes in broadband content, to provide high quality streaming elements to promote the upcoming release of 'Stealth':

Sony Pictures Digital's video content will include a series of trailers, games, and exclusive behind-the-scenes video content directly to consumers who opt-in at the film's Web site. With Maven's technology, Sony can reach consumers directly online and build a powerful, ongoing, and measurable relationship with movie fans.

Entertainment companies are now able to offer full-screen, highest-quality video content to promote their films. With more than 58% of U.S. online households(1) now accessing the Internet via broadband connections, former barriers to receiving high-quality, full-screen videos -- such as download time and illegal sharing -- now can be surmounted technologically. Movie studios are among the first to embrace broadband video to showcase their products.

With all the debate surrounding the box office performance this year, there's little doubt in everyone's mind that actual attendance numbers are down. Because of the myriad of home entertainment choices and rising ticket prices, consumers are more apt to explore movie websites in order to choose what films to see -- providing the highest quality of marketing materials is part of this equation.


[Via Marketwire]

Warner Brothers promotes 'Batman Begins' with Yahoo Takeover Ads

Warner Brothers has purchased massive takeover ads on the Yahoo homepage, which includes heavy flash animated bats and sound effects. If anyone else spots a major 'Batman Begins' online ad buy, post where you saw it as a comment.


[Thanks to Adrants]

NY Post Distributes Free 'Batman Begins' Comic Book

Fast Company alerted us to another Batman Begins promo and giveaway -- basically, the New York Post is giving away free copies of a special 'Batman' comic book with each newspaper. As Warner Bros. parent company Time Warner owns D.C. Comics, this isn't surprising. Fast Company notes that there's a saturation level of outdoor advertising on the streets of Gotham, and we're battening down the hatches for the maelstrom of 'Batman Begins' TV ads this week.

Seems that the MSM has pegged Batman as the last hope for a decent theatrical take at the box office this season. If the early reviews are any indication, that won't be a problem.

[Via Fast Company Now]

Flashback -- Hear the Original 'Star Wars' Radio Spots from 1977

If you want to see just how far ad creatives have come in the last 30-odd years, listen to these original 'Star Wars' radio ads from 1977. Quaint by today's production standards, the constant "Don't be afraid - it's only a movie" seems like it was culled from the the horror genre playbook. It's amazing that these ads are still kicking around -- get 'em before they're gone.


[Via A Small Victory]

20th Century Fox Jumps on the UMD Bandwagon

Per Retail Merchandiser, 20th Century Fox has announced a slate of five UMD titles to bow this Summer:

Targeting the platform's core demo of men ages 18-34, the first five titles to be released by the studio include 'I, Robot,' 'Napoleon Dynamite,' 'Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story,' 'Super Troopers,' and 'Predator.' The initial wave of titles will hit retail shelves in July, with a catalog of releases immediately scheduled for subsequent waves.

No prebook, street date, or SRP were announced, but they will more than likely be in-line with other studio's offerings. This Announcement comes on the heels of Universal's announcement yesterday. How long before we see the independents join the game? That's dependent on how rich the licensing scheme with Sony is -- right now, it might not pay to release titles that won't move 50-75K units. However, I think that an independent could really clean up by releasing martial arts and extreme sports content (skateboarding, snowboarding, motorcycle racing).


[Via Retail Merchandiser]

Studios Clamoring For Trailer Slots in Front of 'Star Wars: Episode III'

According to the Los Angeles Times, the highly-anticipated 'Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith' is bowing in 3,700 theaters, and movie marketing executives are jockeying for coveted trailer slots. Further exacerbating the demand is Lucas' demand that no more than five trailers bow before his feature. Given how lackluster the box office has been so far this year, many films are banking on this added push to help get butts in seats:

Others in the mix, according to another studio: New Line's 'Wedding Crashers,' DreamWorks' 'The Island,' Universal's 'Cinderella Man' and Warner Bros.' 'Batman Begins.' And some studios are also sending trailers for other films directly to exhibitors in hopes of screening with 'Revenge of the Sith.' Sony, for example, is distributing a new "teaser" trailer for 'The Da Vinci Code,' even though the movie doesn't come out for a year

The article mentions that the only film guaranteed placement is 'The Fantastic Four.' Of all of these films, the films that probably need the marketing boost most are New Line's 'Wedding Crashers,' and Universal's 'Cinderella Man.'


[Via the Los Angeles Times]

Dreamwork's 'Madagascar' trailered on a Paramount DVD

According to Video Business, the upcoming Dreamworks film 'Madagascar' has been trailered on Paramount's DVD release of 'Lemony Snicket's a Series of Unfortunate Events'. Although header trailers of new releases have been on DVDs for some time, this is the first instance of a competing studio's trailer on a DVD.

The unusual move is due to pre-existing promotional agreements between Dreamworks and Paramount:

This unusual case of a studio promoting another's fare came about because Lemony Snicket is a Paramount and Dreamworks co-production and thus the two are splitting domestic and international DVD revenue. The CG-animated Madagascar, however, is not a co-production.
DreamWorks and Universal Studios Home Entertainment discs often include cross-promotion of each other's movies, but that's attributable to the fact that Universal is DreamWorks' distribution partner. Paramount entered the mix back in November 2004, when DreamWorks' Shrek 2 DVDs featured a trailer for Lemony Snicket.

There just happens to be another great article in VB today discussing the inevitability of third-party studio commercials on DVDs. Today, a partner trailer, tomorrow, a Pepsi ad? Is this the opening salvo towards greater ad exploitation of the DVD platform?


[Via Video Business Online]

Warner Bros. to promo 'Batman Begins' during 'Smallville' Finale

According to Brand Republic, Warner Brothers will promote the upcoming release of 'Batman Begins' during the season finale of the hit series Smallville.

The finale, which will air on May 18th, will be showing an exclusive clip at some point during the show:

The eight minutes of footage will air within the 90-minute season finale of 'Smallville'. The two [Batman and Superman] have always been linked in comic book fiction and bringing the Man of Steel and the Dark Knight together is designed to further explore the relationship on the screen of two most popular superheroes in the history of American pop culture.

We've seen the broadcast of exclusive clips become an integral part of the movie marketing process over the past year, but none have been so topically on the mark as this one.

Batman begins is due out in theaters on June 17th.


[Via Brand Republic]

Marketing Preview: Superman Returns

Super Hero Hype is giving a brief overview of the advance marketing strategy behind the upcoming Superman Returns movie. Even though its coming from "anonymous sources," it looks in line with what we would expect from Warner Brothers:

The marketing will begin over a year in advance-starting with the teaser trailer that is now scheduled to air with Batman Begins, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Word is Sony Pictures Imageworks is about to start work on about 10 special fx shots that will be featured in the trailer. The official website is also scheduled to be activated around this time, as well, a teaser poster. Then in November, the second trailer will be released with Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Rumor is W.B. wants to have the same trailer with King Kong as well. W.B. is also currently shopping for movie tie ins and product placement, and it comes as no surprise that the companies are lining up.

That's nearly 12 months of constant PR and marketing activities leading up to the theatrical, and almost 18 for the DVD release.

Superman Hype! - The latest Superman news and rumors

Sony Will Release Four Movies for the PlayStation Portable

According to CIO Today, Sony has announced that they will release four movies in the UMD format. The titles will street on April 19th following the PlayStation Portable's release in late March.

According to the article, Sony will use UMD-formatted movies to expand the adoption of the PlayStation Portable beyond young males. However, the initial slate doesn't look like it will deviate from their device's core user base:

The movies the company has chosen, however, may not do much to expand that demographic out of the gate. The four titles -- "XXX," "Hellboy," "Resident Evil: Apocalypse" and "Once Upon a Time in Mexico" -- have a fairly limited appeal. They do add to the device's reputation as a viable video viewer, though.

Sony already has announced that it intends to include a copy of "Spider-Man 2" in the first one million PSP units to be sold in the U.S. There is no word on whether or not the movie will be available for separate purchase.

CIO Today - Worldwide Technology - Sony To Release PSP-Compatible Movies