Batmania

One can hardly turn on the television, read a newspaper, check out a website or even drive down the road without seeing some form of advertising for the new movie The Dark Knight. I freely admit to having being a bit of a comic book geek when I was a kid, and though my tastes ran more towards Superman and Sgt. Rock, I was always a DC guy.

While I have yet to see the film [yes, I plan to] I am most impressed by the marketing. Beginning more than a year ago, the depth that has been achieved is simply amazing. Now of course it is mostly traditional forms, such as a Batman-themed pizza offer, but the viral and online presence is unparalleled.

Websites for a fictional District Attorney's race, fake newspapers and even a mock version of the Drudge Report were created for fans to follow in the months leading up to the actual release of the movie. No longer was the movie "news" contained to broadcasts of Entertainment Tonight or in issues of TV Guide, but now were at our very fingertips.

These activities have been more than just ads telling us when the movie opened. The screenwriters literally created a backstory to the characters themselves that we could follow. This isn't to say someone won't enjoy the movie without having read all of this, simply that it will enrich the experience.

I like to think of this in terms of visiting an art museum. You can look at all of the paintings and sculptures and revel in the beauty and skill, but if you know the history of the work, or more about the form used, it will deepen your appreciation and understanding.

This type of creativity and outside-of-the-box thinking is truly refreshing to see. With the ever increasing necessity of movies to have extremely successful opening weekends, I suppose we should expect this trend to continue. What will be most interesting to watch will be how much traditional forms of advertising are purchased and what new forms of attracting our attention will appear.