Well today is Memorial Day, the day we pause to honor those who have lost their lives in pursuit of freedom and love of our country. It is the designated day to pay tribute to these Americans and celebrate with ceremonies, parades and family gatherings since most of us have been given the day off from work.
It is also the unofficial start of summer. Women can now feel comfortable wearing white pants and shoes. Those of us living in the northern part of the country can rest at ease taking our houseplants outside and planting annuals. Being a three-day weekend, it is the biggest movie weekend of the year
with box office records to break. This year the release of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull drew in a huge audience that put the film on its way to become the second-biggest Memorial Day movie opening ever.
The fourth installment of this saga grossed an estimated $101 million from Friday to Sunday, plus $25 million from its opening Thursday according to Paramount Pictures. They expected to earn another $25 million today. This puts them just behind Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End which had a Friday-Monday total of $139.8 million during last year's Memorial Day weekend.
I already wrote two posts on this theatrical release: this first post regarding the promotional partnership with Major League Baseball and the second post about a major promotional and advertising campaign from Burger King. Another brand that put their entertainment marketing dollars to work with an innovative partnership with Indy and Paramount is Dr. Pepper. The Dr. Pepper Passport to Explore with Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull promotion centers around the adventure theme and will send 23 lucky winners on an adventure of their own-Indy-style!
Everyone who enters an instant win game code online is eligible for the grand prize sweepstakes and an opportunity to channel their “inner Indy” on an adventure to one of four exotic destinations: Egypt, India, Jordan or Peru. All places that Indiana Jones himself has visited during his adventures! Each trip package is provided through Expedia and consists of a 10-12 day adventure with a local tour guide who takes winners horseback riding, boating, hiking and other Indy-style excursions.
Game codes can be found under the caps or inside the wraps of specially marked Dr Pepper and Diet Dr Pepper. This interactive promotion is being supported by a TV spot with ads
that began running on May 1. Additionally, scratch off game codes are featured in print ads which started appearing on May 9. Online
banner ads have also give out game codes which have been running on the Yahoo! Movies section on
Yahoo.com.
One-in-six codes will win a prize! Fans enter these codes online after they register or by texting them in to learn if their codes are instant winners and redeem their prizes. In addition to the adventure trips, prizes include T-shirts, hats, movie tickets and free Dr Pepper product.
“Dr Pepper is Indiana Jones’ biggest fan, so we are thrilled to add
even more excitement around an event that is 19 years in the making,”
said Andrew Springate, vice president of marketing for Dr Pepper. “With
the 23 flavors of Dr Pepper, there is always more to explore, and we’re
bringing fans more ways to explore and experience Indiana Jones this
summer.”
23 iPod Nanos are also hidden inside specially marked cans randomly placed in 12-packs. The Nanos are pre-loaded with “Raiders March” — the Indiana Jones theme song by composer John Williams, as well as an exclusive behind-the-scenes photo from the movie set. Fans will also have the opportunity to collect six limited edition Dr Pepper collector’s cans featuring scenes and characters from the new film.
“By working with Dr Pepper, we wanted to create a rich experience for Indiana Jones fans, both old and new,” said Kayleen Walters, director of marketing for Lucasfilm Ltd. “Dr Pepper is an American institution, making it a perfect partner for the new Indiana Jones film.”
Well I did not go see the movie this weekend, but my 18 year-old daughter did with some of her friends and they were not impressed at all. Maybe this generation just doesn't get it. I guess I'll have to see it for myself. Let me know what you thought of the film if you were one of the many who helped make it a box office hit this weekend.