As you may have figured out by now I am a complete TV addict. So when I came across the ‘I hate Sarah Marshall’ campaign I knew I had to blog about it.
I actually stumbled upon the campaign one morning on the train. I was standing wedged between a tall bulky guy in a gigantic winter coat, and a tiny old lady struggling to keep her balance, when my eyes fell upon a poster. It was white with the words “You do look fat in those jeans Sarah Marshall” written in black, and that was it. No pictures, no graphics, nothing to explain what it was about except a URL at the bottom: www.ihatesarahmarshall.com.
So I’m thinking this is one of those anti-bullying ads that have been all over the place recently. It turns out www.ihatesarahmarshall.com is actually a blog by some guy named Peter about getting over his girlfriend, Sarah Marshall, who dumped him. However, as soon as I scrolled down the page and saw a picture of TV’s Kristen Bell, I realized it was all promotion for a new movie, which I now know to be Forgetting Sarah Marshall, coming out this spring.
The blog itself has several youtube clips that serve as further promotion. Funny enough, the first clip answers most people’s initial question: How did Peter get the money to pay for all these billboards? It turns out that along with my TTC poster, billboards of a similar kind have been put up across North America to promote the movie. In fact, persons unfamiliar with the actors might think the blog (which I guess is really a flog), Peter and his relationship crises, is actually real.
I am pretty impressed with the promoters for this movie. I love the way they combined mainstream advertising with social media to create awareness for their product. Blog stats show that over 50, 000 persons have viewed the site since Peter started posting in February of this year. And I am sure I am not the only person who first learned about the movie through the blog.
I know a lot of people are skeptical about the future of social media as a legitimate tool of communication within the business world, but this mini case just goes to show that this tool is growing in use and recognition and it’s clearly here to stay.
Anyone else seen the ‘i hate sarah marshall’ campaign, or heard of similar projects?
Rhonda,
I’ve seen the “I hate Sarah Marshall” campaign. I haven’t seen the website, though. Can’t be bothered even if it’s only one click away.
Teaser advertising can work. Just look at the number of trees that died discussing the Obay campaign.
In a situation like this, I find it difficult to decide if the “I hate Sarah Marshall” campaign is advertising or PR. Any thoughts?
Paul
The website is not the least bit subtle. It’s outright gaudy and over produced in contrast to the plain ‘ol black and white billboards. All the web content just came across as obnoxious and quickly risked over-saturation.
Does anyone remember the super funny Cartoon Network billboards with phrases like “I pooted.” They were completely random and had a lot of people scratching their heads. No specific website was created for the campaign, instead people would inquire about the weird terms and post pics of the billboards on their own.
http://gladyssantiago.wordpress.com/
A girl named Sarah Marshall put up posters that say “I hate Judd Apatow.” Really! The story’s on NPR.org
My name is Sarah Marshall (yes really!) and I don’t find them posters annoying but I do get asked all the time abour the movie “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” I wonder how they came up with that name?!
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