How do you encourage people to go see your new production? Easy! Give them cool swag. But when posters and key chains no longer grab people’s attention, marketing offices need to get creative.
This emery board was created in 1963 to promote the Alfred Hitchcock film, The Birds, at the Anoka Theater in Minnesota. With its clever, though slightly nefarious slogan, “File Your Nails – Don’t Bite Them, THE BIRDS is coming”, the nail file successfully suggests the frightening nature of the film, (you will never look at birds the same way), while still giving people something they will actually use and look at frequently.
Slightly less useful, though still creative, is this cell phone holder promoting the 2009 film New In Town. In the movie a woman moves from Miami, Florida to New Ulm, Minnesota and realizes it’s not so bad. Made of red rubber foam, the shoe has the movie’s title written across the vamp, so you read it every time you grab your phone. Perhaps a snow boot would have better evoked the spirit of Minnesota, but it probably wouldn’t hold a cell phone.
Finally, we have a top hat, used as part of the promotional package for the 1995 premier of Julie Andrews’ musical, Victor/Victoria at the Orpheum Theater in Minneapolis. A ribbon above the brim reads “Victor/Victoria” and the hat held dried roses, a plastic vase, a chocolate bar, and more. However, because of the direction of the text it cannot actually be worn as a hat, (well, it could, but everyone would be craning their necks trying to read upside-down). So instead, it’s a hat that promotes the musical from your dresser. It’s probably a perfect storage space for your nail file and cell phone holder.