An Interesting Way to Promote SAW

Ok, I think we’re all pretty much agreed that SAW looks like one of the freakiest movies in a long time. I can’t wait to see it. So let’s say you’re a studio marketing guy. What do you do to promote the movie to the media before it opens? Send out some letters? Perhaps a box of yummy donuts to the reporters? Nope… what you do is send out a box with a fake severed hand in it. Now if that doesn’t get your attention in the morning then you need to go to bed earlier! The good folks over at the Movie Marketing Blog give us this little tid bit:

Okay – hands down – most creative promo of the quarter goes to Lion’s Gate. Seems they sent out a bunch of fake severed body parts to promote upcoming horror flick “Saw.” According to Lloyd Grove of the New York Daily News:

But yesterday morning – after opening up a cardboard box left on my chair, only to find, along with the “Saw” press release, a severed hand in a bloody Ziploc bag – I decided to give Lions Gate Films an award of my own. The coveted Lowdown Prize for Most Disgusting Movie Promotion goes to Lions Gate President Tom Ortenberg and Creative Marketing Vice President Tim Palen.

So what was the marketing principle behind the stunt? Ortenberg replied” “We’re always looking to use innovative, effective, cost-efficient things in the marketing and distribution of our pictures,” said Ortenberg. “We don’t spend nearly as much as our competitors. We can be a little bit outside the box.”

Ok, I know this is pretty disgusting and everything, but you gotta admit it’s pretty creative. And more importantly, it’ll make you think about SAW for the rest of the day… which is really the goal of marketing anyway. Hmmmm… I wonder what they would send out to promote Boogy Nights 2?