"The Dark Knight" Marketing

By now, pretty much everyone that has access to a computer, newspaper, or radio has learned of the untimely death of the acclaimed australian actor, Heath Ledger. What many do not know is that Ledger had recently finished working on the latest installment of the Batman film franchise, "The Dark Knight," taking on the role of The Joker.

  Warner Brothers Studios launched an incredibly extensive and creative web campaign to create buzz about the new movie months before the first trailer was even screened in theaters. The question now is whether or not to continue with the marketing of this film in the wake of one of the principal character's death.

  The Wall Street Journal published an article about the marketing of "The Dark Knight" that included information about the interactive feature of the web campaign that encouraged fans to participate in a scavenger hunt in order to unlock clues about the plot-line of the film. Movie Marketing that promotes fan involvement has been proven to increase the success of the film, as was the case of "The Blair Witch Project," according to The Wall Street Journal.

Although Warner Brothers Studios released a statement about Ledger's death, nothing was said about whether or not the web campaign to promote the movie will continue or not. "An executive at a rival studio said that...'the best thing that could happen is that all this marketing stuff just goes on and the movie and the campaign don't turn into some kind of weird grave marker.'"