If Hollywood has learned anything from the success of Barbie and Oppenheimer, it's the undeniable power of a well-crafted marketing campaign. The Barbenheimer frenzy magnetized multitudes to cinemas across the world, prompting Paramount Pictures to adopt a similar viral marketing strategy for its upcoming animated film, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem.
In 2007, a 10-year-old boy named Jonathan Ware, dressed in zombie makeup, was innocently enjoying the Rose Festival in Portland, Oregon. A curious reporter noticed his "awesome face paint job" and asked his thoughts on the event. Jonathan's simple response, "I like turtles," went viral on YouTube and has since garnered over 73 million views.
After 16 years, Paramount Pictures has now revived 'Zombie Kid', now all grown up, for a marketing campaign. A reporter (who was fashionably dressed like April O'Neil's character) recreated the viral video many years later, asking him his opinion of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, and his response was just as expected. Fans online have praised the fantastic marketing tactic, applauding the studio's creativity in leveraging an iconic internet meme.
This, however, is only one of the many marketing campaigns associated with the CG-animated film. Last month, Pizza Hut unveiled an advertising campaign to offer underground deliveries in New York's City subway station, complete with TMNT-themed pizza boxes. Moreover, Gamefam Studios has partnered with Paramount and Nickelodeon to bring Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to Roblox.