1-18-08 : How Viral Is Cloverfield?

8/19/07

1-18-08 : How Viral Is Cloverfield?

8/19/2007 |

Posted by Dave and Thomas

No new trailers, pictures, posters, or information has leaked out on the 1-18-08 movie in quite awhile. Don't get me wrong, there's a ton of "I have inside, secret information..." sites and information out there.

That's getting a little old.

That's the problem with viral-based movies or websites. With enough downtime, people start making stuff up. They make stuff up anyway, but without real facts coming in the junk is more prominent. The actual amount of information out on the Cloverfield movie that is legit is very little. A teaser trailer. A poster. A few websites.

However, the storyline is AWOL and the picture doesn't even have a title yet.

Now, some of you might ask why would the producers of the movie choose such a route?

Usually, it comes down to budget. The 1-18-08 movie is slated to be a rather small budgeted movie of a reported $30 Million. That's a very small budget for any monster/sci-fi flick. With a cast of no-names and a super secret plot, producer JJ Abrams may have turned to the net for promotional reasons.

JJ's success with viral promotions for his other TV shows have helped promote his product immensely. TV promos and posters cost money. If people are promoting your movie through forums, blogs, and websites then you have a chance to not only get great buzz for the movie but to get feedback as well.

Mental Floss takes a look at How Do You Advertise a Movie with No Name? The viral promotion of such blockbusters as "Blair Witch" and "A.I" have set the bar which Cloverfield has a chance to easily overtake.

Labels: 1-18-08, cloverfield, Overnight, Parasite, Slusho

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What is Cloverfield?

Welcome to 1-18-08 Project Cloverfield Blog.

Cloverfield is the J.J. Abrams (Lost, Alias) produced monster flick directed by Matt Reeves. Get caught up on all the Cloverfield news including the viral world of Tagruato, TIDOwave, and Slusho!? And now Aladygma?

However, I love viral campaigns. Cloverfield taught me the fun of being involved with the viral world of movies and TV. That's why I'd like to branch out this site to cover some of the major viral campaigns as they are developing. Feel free to drop me a line or tip on any you find interesting.

Welcome to Cloverfield

Very few facts emerged from the viral campaign that was Cloverfield. It all started after a short, teaser trailer for Cloverfield appeared with the Transformers movie in early July of 2007. Since then, speculation surrounded what the title of the movie would be (Monstrous, Overnight, etc...) and what the monster really is and why it is tearing up New York City.

A few pictures and covert videos from the film showed up online and there were only a few core facts we knew of including the poster, the teaser trailer, and a few websites at 1-18-08, Tagruato Corp, and Slusho .

In November, the official full-length Cloverfield trailer was released that helped open up the story as well as cement the "Cloverfield" name for the movie. A short glimpse of the Cloverfield Monster was seen but for most people they still had little or no clue as to what it was.

The movie centered around five young New Yorkers throwing their friend a going-away party the night that a monster the size of a skyscraper descends upon the city. Told from the point of view of their video camera, the film is a document of their attempt to survive the most surreal, horrifying event of their lives. Cloverfield opened the weekend of 1-18-08 and set box office records for a movie in January with a monster take of over $40M. Continue to check back here for updates on the mystery and viral campaigns of Cloverfield.

Get Started with the Cloverfield Viral Marketing

If you're new to the Cloverfield viral world than let's get started. First off, for the beginners let's look at what we're talking about.

What does viral marketing mean? Click here.

1-18-08.com Updates with pictures randomly. Each picture is layered onto of the previous update and all can be dragged and moved around the screen. Click and hold the mouse to 'grab' an image and move it around. While holding the image, shake it back and forth quickly and it will flip over. Some images have writing on the back.

Slusho This is the Japanese frozen drink made from a secret ingredient gathered from the bottom of the ocean. Slusho gives you a kick and makes you extremely happy. Prior to 1-18-08 Slusho was not sold in the US. However, recent FDA approval gave Slusho clearance to come to the states. Rob Hawkins, the lead character, was recently promoted to vice-president of Slusho and was on his way to Japan the night of the attack. Slusho is owned by the Tagruato Corp. of Japan. Slusho also first made an appearance on J.J. Abrams Alias during a scene where characters buy the drink at a store.

Tagruato This ficticious Japanese company is the parent company of Slusho as well as the Yoshida Medical Research, Bold Futura, and ParafFUN! Wax Distributors. Besides drilling the oceans for Slusho ingredients, Tagruato builds everything from space satellites to medical gear.

T.I.D.O wave An activist group set out to bring to light all the damage Tagruato has done to the envirnoment.

Jamie and Teddy A minor character from the movie, Jamie popped up on a 1-18-08.com picture and the MySpace profiles for the movies characters before getting famous for her "Jamie and Teddy" website. The site is comprised of video journals from Jamie. The site is password protected but can be accessed by the password "jllovesth"

1-18-08 Project Cloverfield - Warning! Spoilers