New Video Launches Viral Game to Promote 'Monty Python' DVD Releases

DVD Distributor New Video launched a viral game called the "Silly Walks Generator" to promote their recent DVD release of "Monty Python's Personal Best" for A&E Home Video. The releases are six new DVDs featuring the best bits from all six Pythons plus new content. The game, which has a pretty slick interface, lets you pick a famous Python character and animate them into a "Silly Walk." Our favorite is the knight with the dead chicken, of course.

The viral component comes in when a walk is sent to a friend. I played around with it for a while, and I have to say, it's pretty cool. It took me a second to figure out that the space bar moved the character around, but I tried the animated tutorial, which explained all of the controls. The game comes from a company called Transmote, which, according to their profile, has developed some pretty sophisticated Flash Games for the cable networks (most recently Court TV).

This is the first viral game we've seen dedicated to a DVD release (please correct us if we're wrong) -- what's interesting is that they drive purchases to ten different retail partners - perhaps that's a way of generating "good mojo" with their distribution channels.

Technorati Tags: Viral Marketing, DVD, Monty Python, Flash Games, Movie Marketing

AMC Offers Money-back guarantee on 'Cinderella Man' Ticket Purchase

According to Reuters, AMC, the #2 movie chain in America, is offering a money-back guarantee for those who purchase tickets to see 'Cinderella Man':

Advertisements offering on-the-spot refunds to AMC patrons unhappy with the film began running on June 24 in newspapers and on the exhibitor's Web site (www.amctheaters.com), AMC spokeswoman Pam Blase said on Tuesday.
The ads, welcomed by the film's distributor, Universal Pictures, say in part: "AMC believes Cinderella Man is one of the finest motion pictures of the year!"
Blase said AMC provides occasional rebates to dissatisfied moviegoers on a case-by-case basis. But the "Cinderella Man" offer marks the exhibitor's first money-back guarantee since "Mystic Pizza," Julia Robert's breakout 1988 film.

The move comes amidst the widespread belief that releasing 'Cinderella Man' as a counter-programming measure was a failed move, and there has been speculation the Universal may try a limited re-release in the fall. This guarantee is an interesting effort to drum up business, particularly because the demographic most receptive to these types of offers is also the same one most likely to be interested in seeing this film. And much like rebates, the redemption levels are, barring aberrations, usually pretty low. AMC isn't releasing any numbers, and so far has just said that the refunds requested have been "minuscule."


[Via Reuters]

'The Interpreter' Draws Older Female Audiences to the Box Office

According to the USA Today, the Nicole Kidman thriller 'The Interpreter' drew a significant amount of its audience base from older viewers. Based on internal research by Universal, approx. 60% of the audience was 35 and older, and 58% was female. So what's the story behind $22 million take this weekend?

"We didn't bother marketing the film on MTV," says Nikki Rocco, Universal's distribution chief. "We knew that adults were going to be drawn to this more than the kids."

The industry's summer of explosions and special effects unofficially begins next weekend, with XXX: State of the Union and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Rocco says that, after months of romantic comedies and horror movies, audiences were ready for espionage.

"It was time for a serious movie," she says.

Combine the hunger for adult pics with a talented, A-list cast, and you've got the recipe for a spring success. Universal seemed to be focused more on getting Kidman in the press and advertising in appropriate, targeted places like women's mags and outdoor advertising.


[Via USA Today]