Cloverfield campaign expands with foreign news casts, attack footage

I've spent some time blogging about the fascinating viral campaign for this summer's release The Dark Knight, but there's also a very interesting campaign leading up to this month's release of the Sci-Fi thriller Cloverfield. I haven't really kept up with the campaign, but the movie itself appears to revolve around some mystery creature/monster going on a rampage.

There has been several viral sites for this campaign as well, and now there is 'news footage' from around the world of a recent 'attack' by the monster on an oil platform in the atlantic. Here is the story and footage from an Italian report:

The company that owned the platform, Tagruato, has issued this 'release' on their website concerning the incident:

There has been an altercation at the Chaui Station. Although details are limited at present time, be assured that Tagruato is taking every measure necessary to ensure the safety and well being of all staff and crew. Specialty teams have been deployed, and are working aggressively to restore harmony at the site.

The cause of the problem is currently being investigated, although it is suspected that an eco-terror cell is responsible for the disturbance.

We have top investigators on our side. Everything will be resolved shortly, and all problems will be fixed. If you have any questions, please contact us at +81-3-5403-6318 for further instructions.

This is another example of how the reality/movie line is blurring in movie marketing. And it's also a great example of how to make your marketing fun. First Showing has more videos, and I love this comment from one of their readers:

I'm really impressed by this campaign.
And honestly, the newscasts are imho the best foreign specific content produced by Hollywood. E.g., the Russian newscast is really authentic, without any accents, with realistic messages. The same is Japanese and German versions.

I think, even if the movie won't rock, the whole viral story becomes part of the history of modern popculture.

Building excitement and letting fans have fun in the process. Sounds like a winning marketing campaign to me.

Tags:The Viral Garden, Marketing, Cloverfield

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