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Lately, pirates can be found across the internet, but, in this case, they're not the kind that steal music and software. Now, with the help of The Walt Disney Company, they are the kind that have eye patches and plunder and loot on the seven seas. Walt Disney Pictures' upcoming blockbuster sequel, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, has become one of their most highly-anticipated live-action film releases in a long time. To ensure that the film gets as much hype as possible, Disney has decided to take promotion into the digital age. In the past, television commercials, print ads, and theatrical trailers have been used to promote films. You can't watch a TV show nowadays without seeing an ad for Hollywood's latest $100 million picture. However, in keeping with Disney's recent trend for embracing new technologies, they have set out on three unique ventures to help spread the word for the new Pirates film. First, on May 1st, Walt Disney Pictures, in combination with MySpace.com, allowed one lucky fan to be the first to view the new, never-before-seen, full theatrical trailer for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. The lucky winner was chosen from the 50,000+ "friends" of the film's official MySpace profile (http://www.myspace.com/deadmanschest). The winner, known as "hook.loren.sink" on MySpace, has the opportunity to virally distribute the trailer across the internet in any manner he sees fit. His first step was to take the link that Disney provided him (http://www.totaleclips.com/Player/Bounce.aspx?eclipid=e27307&bitrateid=242&vendorid=566) and post it in the Forum on the Dead Man's Chest MySpace profile. Now that the link is out, it will surely spread via instant messages, emails, blogs, and news stories like this one... at least Disney hopes it will. Unfortunately, even with Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer, on the board of directors at Disney, no one bothered to check whether or not the method of distribution for the trailer would work on Apple computers. It doesn't. Since I am writing this article on a Mac, I am unable to view the trailer. The folks responding to hook.loren.sink's forum post seem to like it though. The rest of Disney's unusual promotions for the new film will launch with the film itself and surround the idea of immersing yourself into the world of the Pirates of the Caribbean. Disney Online is creating a new massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) simply called, "Pirates of the Caribbean". This game will allow players to create their own pirate identity and form a guild with other pirate players. The game play then unfolds through missions on the high seas in which players will both battle each other as well as computer-controlled evil, undead pirates. The new game is being designed with both kids and families in mind. Disney will be debuting the game at the upcoming Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), beginning on May 10th. In order to play, a monthly subscription fee will be required; it is unknown how much at this time, though it will likely be $10-15/month. With this subscription model, it appears that this game is much more than a simple promotion for the movie, but a long-term money-making opportunity for Disney as well. Alongside the online computer game, mDisney, formerly Disney Mobile, will be launching "Pirates of the Caribbean Multiplayer", a similar game to the above MMORPG but designed for playing on mobile phones. This mobile game will allow up to 16 players to chat and battle with each other in pirate-style. Sign-up for beta testing on this service can currently be found at http://www.piratesmobilemultiplayer.com. If playing networked games doesn't immerse you into the Pirates story line enough, you can head to either coast of the United States and visit Walt Disney World in Florida or Disneyland in California. Disney is adding the characters of Jack Sparrow and Captain Barbossa to the classic theme park attraction on which the movies have been based. These additions will allow Pirates newcomers to relate to the ride more effectively after having only seen or heard of the movie franchise. Corporate synergy is alive through technological innovation in The Walt Disney Company. Disney has managed to turn a movie trailer, which was once thought of as nothing more than a commercial, into an fun and interactive distribution experiment. They've furthered that notion in promoting the Pirates film franchise through interactive video games both on the computer and away from it on mobile phones. When you're not at your computer or near your phone, you can take a trip to where it all started in a Disney theme park, where you soon will be able to greet your favorite movie characters in person. Disney is not just trying to simply push consumers to go see an adventure film on the big screen; instead, they are making sure that everyone has a chance to truly live out their own pirate fantasy. Ricky Brigante is Host of 'Inside the Magic' The Internet's First Orlando-Based Disney Podcast |
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