My latest contribution to Voce Nation takes my experience with generating buzz for Super Bowl spots and looks through that lens on what studios and other marketers are doing in advance of this year’s game.
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I mentioned the other day that Roxio, the company behind the popular mobile game Angry Birds, was partnering with 20th Century Fox on special levels of the game to promote their upcoming animated feature Rio.
The movie and its tie-in game are getting a TV commercial during this weekend’s Super Bowl XLV (Hollywood Reporter, 2/1/11). The spot is also notable for the fact that it’s the first in-game spot to include an embedded code, which will give viewers who catch it to unlock that movie-themed level, which includes a Rio sweepstakes that awards the winner a trip to the movie’s premiere in Rio de Janeiro.
While this is the first time a code has been included in a commercial airing during the Super Bowl, this isn’t the first time a coupon code of some sort has appeared in TV spots in general. The most famous example is when KFC included a code for a free sandwich in its commercials a couple years ago or so. But in most cases that’s a tactic meant to combat people fast-forwarding through the commercials on the DVRs, something that’s not really a concern during the Super Bowl.
Also on the Super Bowl front is a video report from Alan Frutkin at Adweek on what to expect during the game, though much of his report first deals with TV shows that Fox will be promoting during the broadcast.
http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f8/1125919467
