Look Back: The first ever “imaginary” trailer to promote ‘Imaginary’
I checked out ‘Imaginary‘ on Prime Video this weekend! I enjoyed the movie; it has vibes from iconic horror flicks like ‘Insidious‘ and ‘It‘ film franchises. After watching it, I went down the internet rabbit hole to learn more about it—like box-office numbers, what the cast and crew are up to, and all the marketing efforts, as I usually do. I found a few cool promo stuff, but one initiative caught my eye. So, here’s my third article on the ‘Look Back‘ series.
About the movie, ‘Imaginary’…
The movie’s main character, Jessica, moves into her childhood home with her husband and his two daughters. The younger daughter, Alice, ‘befriends’ a teddy bear and begins having conversations with it. Over time, the ‘bond’ between Alice and the teddy bear becomes stronger. This leads to a series of events reminiscent of the horror found in film franchises like ‘Insidious‘ and ‘It‘.
About the marketing idea…
Jeff Wadlow, the director, and Jason Blum, the founder and CEO of Blumhouse Productions, co-produced the movie ‘Imaginary‘. Blumhouse Productions also co-produced by ‘Five Nights At Freddy’s‘ (FNAF’s) was released for streaming on Peacock and theatrically in the United States on October 27, 2023. Blumhouse initiated promotional efforts for ‘Imaginary‘ as follows, which Lionsgate views as a chance to reward theatricality and moviegoers, and to surprise and delight them:
Marketing Journo
I wasn’t personally present to experience the first-of-its-kind trailer, so here’s a brief description of the experience from ‘Collider’:
The Imaginary teaser is unique in that it plays with your senses and natural fear of the unknown. At the beginning, an eerie little girl’s voice instructs you to close your eyes. If you’re too chicken (like me) or rebellious (good for you) to actually do as instructed, well, they’ll do it for you, as the screen then goes black and more creepy noises begin to play. The child starts counting, an ominous music-box song starts playing, and there’s the pound of footsteps and the creak of a door in there, too. The reliance on audio is interesting and a risk that pays off — who isn’t a little afraid of the dark?
Around halfway through, you’ll be instructed to open your eyes. The effects make it so it looks and feels like you’re blinking, with the screen showing quick, horrifying clips from the film of terrified people and sinister-looking creatures.
Recognition…
Variety describes it as a marketing strategy that was highly effective in generating interest in the movie. According to reports, during the opening weekend of FNAF’s, the term ‘Imaginary movie’ saw a significant spike in Google searches, reaching “maximum search interest” according to the search engine’s trend data.
Source: Blumhouse Productions & Lionsgate