Publisher(s): YouTube
Jim Carrey stars in the psychological thriller as Walter Sparrow, who becomes manic and obsessive once he receives a book from his wife that seems to be based on his life. The main character in the novel has a haunting obsession with the number 23, and Carrey's character soon adopts the same obsession when he discovers his own connection with the fated number. Carrey's character begins having nightmares about the climax of the novel, which ends in a foretold murder-- as the story and his own obsession with the number 23 consumes him.
New Line Cinema is giving users a chance to receive "absolution of their sins" if they submit anonymous confessions of their "deepest darkest obsessions." One contributor will win $2300, and 23 other submissions will be featured on the movie's official website.
You can watch the movie trailer, leave comments and watch the confessions of contestants. If you have a gnawing desire to "repent your sins," you can also leave your own confession or visit one of many traveling confession booths in major cities around the country for a chance to win.
-- Krisserin Canary, associate editor, iMediaConnection
The comments on this page are my favorite part of the site. A couple of them give the most apt creative review of the movie trailer because they provide a whole spectrum of viewpoints-- from horror-flick aficionados to those mocking this newly-induced fear in the number 23. Dogmaf writes, "The number 23 will forever be there to haunt you. Everything is connected with 23 because everything is connected with 666." In a more lighthearted tone, Mouser26 says, "Jim Carey in a Horror-like flick. Steller. Sounds like the man making more than a name for himself. Comedy, melodrama, chickflick, and now horror Sweetness." The end of the trailer leaves you in suspense, but my prediction is that Michael Jordan (the most famous number 23) could make a cameo appearance. Then again, don't hold your breath.
-- Ryan Buchanan, CEO, eROI
More and more marketers are enlisting the power of community to increase the power of their traditional media advertising. By leveraging the power of an existing and active community like YouTube, it's easy to create a channel in which consumers can interact, create content and publish that content to their spheres of influence.
The idea behind the "Number 23" YouTube microsite enlists just that concept. Visitors are invited to share their own "obsessions" through video confessionals. The strength of the idea is that it reinforces the main concept of the movie -- obsession -- by asking visitors to become a part of the movie experience through their own videos. However, in execution, there seems to be a few things that are lacking. First, I have seen no media support for the microsite, so I can only assume that they are playing mainly to the YouTube community. Second, I think the reward would have been stronger if instead of being just cash, the winning clip was featured in a television commercial or in some wider-reaching medium. This allows the contest to play to a motivation of fame that is shared by many videobloggers.
All in all, I applaud New Line Cinema for its latest venture into the social media/CGM space. It's a learning process for all marketers, and while I think this is a great step in the right direction, it is up to all marketers to figure out how to leverage these communities to their utmost.
-- Ryan Anderson, public relations manager, Fuel Industries