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From its early trailers, The Water Horse just looked like a clever take on the Loch Ness Monster legend. In it, a young boy finds a little sea creature and raises it lovingly, until it becomes too large - then it must be secreted away into a lake. Lake Ness, in particular.

Starring Emily Watson (Red Dragon), Alex Etel (Millions), and David Morrissey (Basic Instict 2), The Water Horse appears to be a charming children’s fantasy tale. But recently, a little campaign of viral marketing has begun.

If you’ve seen a movie in theatres recently, you might have noticed the “please silence your cell phones” message disguised as a promotion for The Water Horse. A ringing cell phone causes chaos in the MacMorrow household, and even the tiny monster escapes from his bathtub to wreak havoc. It’s kind of cute, but a little startling (when the ringing sound kicks in, at least five people in any given theater scramble for their cell phones).

This is quite tame compared to the scheme going on in Tokyo Bay. Using the same technology you’ll see in water shows at Disney theme parks, The Water Horse marketing department has projected a 15 meter Loch Ness monster using fountains and lights.

No matter how small, this viral marketing technique threatens to overtake the popularity of the film itself. But such is life - and, particularly, such is Hollywood.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Categories: Movie stories //