Viral Marketing | FirstShowing.net (original) (raw)
VIRAL NEWS
Another Music Video for 'Smile 2's' Popstar Skye Riley - 'Grieved You'
"Like you've been talking circles every time you got caught. I already grieved you..." Well, those are some scary lyrics. Paramount has revealed another sneak new music video as part of the viral marketing for the horror sequel Smile 2, directed Parker Finn. Their viral kicked off a few months ago with a music video for a song called "Blood On White Satin" by pop star Skye Riley. This new one is for a track called "Grieved You" - so many ominous songs she's singing ha. About to embark on a new world tour, global pop sensation Skye Riley (played by Naomi Scott) begins experiencing increasingly terrifying and inexplicable events. Overwhelmed by the escalating horrors and the pressures of fame, Skye must face her dark past to regain control of her life before it spirals out of control. The full cast includes Rosemarie DeWitt, Kyle Gallner (from the first movie), Lukas Gage, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, Peter Jacobson, Raúl Castillo, Dylan Gelula, and Ray Nicholson. The trailers for this horror movie have been terrific so far, but this viral is really where the creepiness hides. She's dancing with scary ghosts under white sheets?! Nah, I'm outta here.
Is This Pop Concert Video Viral Marketing for Horror Sequel 'Smile 2'?
"Disaster waiting to happen, like blood on white satin." Its been a while since we've had a really good viral marketing campaign to follow. Looks like a new one just kicked off this week. Some horror fans have noticed there is a promotion for a pop star named Skye Riley, revealing her new single titled "Blood On White Satin" featuring 30 seconds of footage of her walking up on stage during a Taylor Swift-esque concert. It just so happens that actress Naomi Scott plays a character named Skye Riley in the sequel Smile 2, the follow-up to Park Finn's horror hit from 2022. Smile 2 is already scheduled for release in October later this year, and the song is supposed to drop on June 18th - in a few days. Which likely means this is to announce the first official trailer for Smile 2 arriving next week on June 18th. No plot details are known, it's all a big secret, but wouldn't it be totally crazy if the bigger & wilder plot of Smile 2 involved a pop star passing along the smile curse?! Yeah that's some scary sh*t right there. Her song includes some very horror-esque lyrics: "blood on white satin," "devastation right in front of me", + "am I a future disaster just waiting to happen?"
Viral Plumbing Bros. TV Commercial for 'The Super Mario Bros Movie'
"For super service, call or text...!" Ahaha who needs a plumber! Or two?! Illumination Animation revealed this fun TV commercial viral promo for The Super Mario Bros. Movie, arriving in theaters this April. It's a TV spot entirely in the style of a local plumbers commercial, with all the trimmings and perfect riffs on plumbers trying to get your attention. It even has its own vintage '90s hip hop Run DMC-style jingle. All of this is just delightful. The video also leads to a viral website, for Mario & Luigi's plumbing business, with a number you can actually text (if you're in Brooklyn & Queens). The movie features the voices of Chris Pratt as Mario, Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, Charlie Day as Luigi, Jack Black as Bowser (of course), Keegan-Michael Key as Toad, Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong, Fred Armisen as Cranky Kong, Kevin Michael Richardson, and Sebastian Maniscalco. The marketing for this has been on point so far, and this commercial is the cherry on top. The site is also worth perusing - who'd like a "career" with these Bros?
Universal Launches Dinotracker.com Viral Website for 'Jurassic World'
"Imagine if you lived in a world where dinosaurs were roaming wild? What would you do? And what would want to know to keep yourself safe?" Oh this is cool! Universal has launched a fun viral marketing website for Jurassic World: Dominion (in theaters June) called Dinotracker. By now everyone knows that the plot of Dominion involves dinosaurs fully on the loose worldwide (after the end of Fallen Kingdom) and living with humanity. But they need to be tracked! The site is run by the Department of Prehistoric Wildlife (or DPW) - "a global organization that publishes up-to-date reports on dinosaur encounters, user-submitted sightings, and vital information, to facilitate the co-existence of humans and dinosaurs on our planet." So far the website just features an interactive globe with sightings listed and videos included to show us where all these dinos are being found. The videos are all legit - everything looks believable and real, these feel authentic. And, considering it's been 29 years since Jurassic Park, the dino VFX look damn good.
Learn About Judd Apatow's Epic 'Cliff Beasts' Action Movie Franchise
"Light the sky on fire!!" Netflix has revealed a teaser and a full-length retrospective featurette promoting the new movie Cliff Beasts 6: The Battle For Everest. Don't know anything about the other Cliff Beasts movies? Well find out more below! Want a quick reacap on what you've missed in the Cliff Beast Universe? This video covers everything including what's going on, who is in it, and why there is already a sixth movie you didn't know about. Cliff Beasts 6: The Battle For Everest stars Pedro Pascal, Karen Gillan, Leslie Mann, Iris Apatow, David Duchovny, Keegan-Michael Key, and Guz Khan. Here's the deal - this is all just some clever, fun viral marketing for Judd Apatow's new movie called The Bubble - about group of actors and actresses stuck inside a pandemic bubble at a hotel trying to complete the film. That film is Cliff Beasts 6, and these are the "real" stars of it. The Bubble even opens on April Fools Day next month, which couldn't be more perfect - right? This is such a great way to introduce this wacky new comedy to the world.
Viral Ad Teaser for 'Bullet Train' Action Movie - Full Trailer in March
"You put peace out in the world, you get peace back." Take a look at this. Sony has quietly released a little viral marketing ad for an action movie arriving his summer called Bullet Train. Yes, it's set on a bullet train, which almost makes me feel like we're in the 90s waiting for the next kick ass train action movie. The ad is for a fictional train line in Japan called "Nippon Speed Line" or NSL, with some stunning footage of the train in Japan. It ends with a shot of a beat up Brad Pitt taking a rest in what looks like a slight break in the action. The plot involves five assassins aboard this train who discover their missions all have something in common. "Join us for a truly unforgettable experience with a new way to travel: tranquil, comfortable, and fast." The ad also hints that the full trailer for Bullet Train is debuting on March 2nd, an the NSL website has a huge countdown time on it, too. I'm a big fan of these kind of surprise, early hype marketing moments. Can't wait to see more - as this usually means the studio is confident and excited about it as well.
There Is a New Viral Marketing Website for 'The Batman' to Follow
"Have you ever been to the Iceberg Lounge?" There's a new viral website for Matt Reeves' upcoming The Batman movie, discovered by fans a week ago. And while there is one file hidden on the site, not much is there yet. But this is exciting news. Most will remember the viral marketing campaign for The Dark Knight (called "Why So Serious?"), as it's highly regarded as the best Hollywood viral campaign ever. Might this be an early hint that they're preparing something like this again for the next Batman? Who knows. The site was discovered by deciphering code hidden on a new cardboard standee for the movie that appeared in a movie theater recently. Surprise, surprise. If you look closely, there's coded text written on the bottom left corner (photo below). Once deciphered, fans discovered that it points to a new website - which looks like a basic terminal for a server and includes a text prompt with green text. Answer a few questions, or rather, answer a few riddles (ha ha ha) and you'll be given a "reward" - a jpg image with three GCPD sketches of The Batman.
Is the Moon Not the Moon? 'Moonfall' Conspiracy Viral Site Launches
Calling all megastructurists! Lionsgate has launched a brand new viral website for the upcoming epic sci-fi disaster movie Moonfall, about the Moon crashing right into Earth. Yes, of course it's directed by Roland Emmerich, and so far it looks awesome. The movie's viral website is a conspiracy theory blog run by the (fictional) Dr. K.C. Houseman, a character in the movie played by actor John Bradley. The site deals with the (very real) conspiracy theory question: is the Moon actually a "megastructure"? Is it hollow? Is it an alien spacecraft? Or is it something else? The original plot synopsis for Moonfall ends with a hint that "our Moon is not what we think it is." But what is it, then? The website is called MoonTruth.net and includes links and info, discussing various theories and scientific details about the Moon and what's really going on up there. Do you believe any of it? More viral websites for sci-fi movies, please! Let's bring them back again.
WB Relaunches Mysterious 'What is The Matrix' Site for 'The Matrix 4'
It has begun. It's finally time to kick off the marketing for The Matrix 4, officially known as The Matrix Resurrections. The first glimpse of footage from the sequel was revealed a few weeks ago at the industry event CinemaCon in Las Vegas, a teaser trailer showing what seemed to be lovers Neo & Trinity meeting but having no memory of anything in their past lives. At the moment, Warner Bros still has Lana Wachowski's The Matrix 4 scheduled to debut in theaters December 22nd, 2021 just before the end of this year. There are rumors it could be delayed (again), but nothing has been confirmed or announced yet. Many fans have been wondering why there is no marketing yet – absolutely nothing – not even an announcement about the title. But now it looks like they're finally firing up the marketing machine. Game creator / movie geek Hideo Kojima tweeted about a brand new website for The Matrix called "What is The Matrix?" And here we go...
Did You Solve the Riddle Hidden in 'The Batman' Teaser? Here's How
"Haven't a clue? Let's play a game, just Me and You..." Its been quite a long time since anyone has hidden something in a movie trailer. But it's no surprise that there's a hidden message in the first teaser trailer for The Batman, directed by Matt Reeves. Especially considering one of the best viral marketing campaigns in Hollywood history was for The Dark Knight (run by the legendary 42 Entertainment). The teaser for The Batman introduces us to Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne, with one shot of Colin Farrell as Cobblepot. But there's one other villain teased - The Riddler, also known as Edward Nashton, being played by Paul Dano. There are a few scenes involving notes left "To The Batman", and of these clues at a crime scene is a card from "Your Secret Friend". And inside there's a riddle - along with a threatening message about the "LIAR". Does the code hidden in the card mean anything...? Yes it does! A game designer / puzzlecrafter on Twitter named Mike Selinker figured it out and explained how he solved it using brute force. Find out below.
Check Out the Dinosaur Protection Group Viral Site for 'Jurassic World'
Save the dinos! Over the weekend, we were treated to a brand new trailer for J.A. Bayona's dinosaur sequel Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, hitting theaters this June. Along with this debut, a new viral website has popped up online for something called the "Dinosaur Protection Group" - with a team lead by Bryce Dallas Howard's character Claire Dearing. The site explains that the DPG is "dedicated to establishing and protecting the rights of all living dinosaurs." It also states that "dinosaurs are not ours to experiment upon or exploit for entertainment or financial gain. Though we brought them back to existence, we do not thereby claim the right to assume control of them." Ain't that the truth. There's also a Volcano Watch page which ties right into the plot of the film where they go back to the island in hopes of saving some dinos before this volcano erupts. Though, based on the first footage, it erupts when they're there and then they must escape.
Join the Jaeger Uprising - Viral Teaser Video for 'Pacific Rim: Uprising'
Join the Jaeger Uprising! Well, this is a cool way to introduce the new movie. Legendary + Universal have debuted a viral teaser trailer video for Pacific Rim 2, known as Pacific Rim: Uprising. The video is an advertisement explaining what exactly a Jaeger is (the giant fighting robots controlled by two people who interlink via brain technology) and ends with an upbeat message encouraging fans to sign-up to be a Jaeger pilot. "Now accepting pilot applications" at GoJaeger.com. The video also features our first look at John Boyega as Jake Pentecost, in his Jaeger helmet. The full cast of the sequel includes Scott Eastwood, Tian Jing, Adria Arjona, Charlie Day, Burn Gorman, Rinko Kikuchi, and Karan Brar. I hope we get to see an actual trailer with real footage soon, but for now this is a cool way to start the Jaegar hype yet again.