The topics and meme culture driven by streaming platforms and social media have forced movie studios to get increasingly creative with their marketing. These days, a studio that doesn’t pull some kind of publicity stunt almost doesn’t qualify as a good studio.
Back in April, Netflix had actress Charlize Theron suspended by a harness from a billboard in Times Square to promote Apex. More recently, the streamer took things even further by having actor Nathan Shoop actually live inside a movie billboard for three days as a publicity stunt for The Last House. Of course, this was a paid gig. When Shoop finally climbed down from the billboard, which stood dozens of feet above the ground, he walked away with $75,000.
According to The New York Times, Shoop had no Wi-Fi or phone while living inside the billboard, but he did have air conditioning. That was probably a necessity, considering temperatures outside reached 90°F (about 32°C). Spending three days inside an un-air-conditioned billboard in that heat would have been unbearable.
Shoop wore pajamas, listened to music with headphones, watched movies and communicated with people on the street using a handwritten whiteboard. The setup perfectly recreated a scene from the movie, in which a family trapped inside their home communicates with their neighbors.
And Shoop seemed to be enjoying the unusual assignment. When asked whether this was the highest-paying union job he had landed recently, he wrote on the whiteboard: “Wait, we’re getting paid?”
Yes, he was getting paid — and quite handsomely. The three-day publicity stunt reportedly earned him $75,000. Not only did he get to experience what it was like to be trapped inside The Last House, he also became the center of attention. Talk about a win-win.
Movie marketing has become increasingly outrageous, and Netflix clearly needs to create some buzz to get people talking. After all, the streamer hasn’t had a genuine blockbuster movie hit in quite some time.
Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, which recently opened worldwide, is another example of how far studios are willing to go to capture attention. Even with Nolan’s name attached, the film has been promoted relentlessly around the world. Beyond traditional premieres and fan events, the London premiere featured a recreation of the Trojan Horse, while some theaters used 4DX effects to create an immersive mix of sound, motion and visual effects. The film has managed to generate a steady stream of conversation every day.
Because in today’s entertainment business, the more eyeballs and attention you capture, the more real money you stand to make at the box office.