Best Web-Based Promotion
Agency: Cartoon Network
Campaign: CN & Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules
Client: 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox released the sequel Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules amid competition from more than 15 other movies. To generate awareness and buzz to inspire people to watch, the filmmaker needed to engage new fans as well as loyalists to the brand.
They developed an in-depth, insider’s look into the making of the film. The video content showed viewers behind-the-camera techniques, what life is like on the set, never-before-seen film footage and exclusive interviews with the cast.
A custom-branded microsite was built (cartoonnetwork.com/wimpy) to host the content, with two sections. The first section featured characters Greg (Zach Gordon) and Rowley (Robert Capron), average middle schoolers who wanted to be rich and famous. Their section was designed to look as if the boys had created it themselves in a desperate attempt to become popular. The background looked as if it had been hand-drawn and put together using markers and construction paper. Some of the on-set, behind-the-scenes videos, custom animations and downloadable content were also designed to give them a home-made look and feel.
The second section of the site was devoted to the movie’s title character Rodrick and his band, Loded Diper. To capitalize on their dreams of fame, this area was made to look and feel like a website promoting the band, with elements that a real band website would have, including ad media, message boards, tour dates and band merchandise. The site also hosted custom-produced video interstitials introducing viewers to the band, as well as an exclusive music video of their “hit” song Loded Diper.
New video segments were added weekly leading up to the film’s release. Fans were driven to the Wimpy Kid movie’s site through co-branded ad media on the microsite homepage and across the site’s multiple show and game pages. Users could also link to the movie site through an icon on CartoonNetwork.com’s ‘show-picker’ nav-bar, which runs across the top of every page.
Television advertising commercials featuring Greg and Rowley drove fans to check out the site. The Wimpy Kid microsite’s main-page received roughly 1.5 million page views, while the video segments received 5.3 million total plays and the promotion was written up in more than 10 trade publications. Author Jeff Kinney liked the site so much he agreed to produce original artwork and host it through his own site, with a link back to the microsite.
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