Hit Happens: Why Did Planet of the Apes Succeed?

The article talks about certain points in which they believe the movie did so well because of these specific points. Suggesting that it was the way in which the movie Deemphasized James Franco, that it was surprising good, that the timing was right, that it was a cheap movie to make, and finally that people really love monkeys.

Campaign For Rise of The Planet of the Apes Launches Mulitiple Fake Viral Videos

20 Century Fox Launches not just one viral video to promote the new Planet of the Apes reboot but several videos. Someone previously posted about the viral video of a chimp holding an AK-47 and opening fire on humans, but that was not the only one. All these videos have "20th Century Fox" printed at the bottom of them.

Apes: the Brand Launch Follow-Through

This article from the blog Brand Affinity talks about how the entire planet of the apes franchise has held legitimacy because of the first film's follow-through: that singular powerful image of the Statue of Liberty half buried on a lonely beach. The apes franchise has over a 40 year history, ending most recently with a poorly received 2001 reboot. Despite the fact that the brand had fizzled out, Fox knew it could revive the franchise again as long as Rise of the Planet of the Apes' story and marketing directly related back to the original film's Statue of Liberty ending in an intriguing way.

Monkeys, Guns and Their Eventual Rise

When you see the preview for Rise of the Planet of the Apes, you likely think to yourself:

"Haha ya right. Stop with this nonsense, monkeys will never take over!"

In the end, you may find yourself interested to see the movie, perhaps due to the phenomenal CGI—or maybe you are just a huge James Franco fan. Whatever it may be, something likely drove you to go see the film.

For those who didn't bite on the initial urge to see the film, it was perhaps a viral marketing campaign that led a late surge to get out and see what all the fuss was about.

Viral marketing has been huge over the years, but it is real hit or miss if your campaign will actually spread as intended.

For Rise of the Planet of the Apes, it took four different campaigns to find one that actually worked.

All it took was a video of an ape holding an AK-47 to attract an entire new audience. The video has reached over 13 million viewers, which has allowed the film to attract an entire new audience outside of who had already planned on seeing the film.

The clip was simple and brilliant.

First of all, they made it seem like it was real footage. Something that has been huge in the movie industry. Even though this was stepping away from the actual format of the film, it is a brilliant way to tap into a market that is already doing extremely well.

All it showed was members of a group of military personell coming across an ape. Just for fun, one of the men gives it their gun. While they thought it would be just a hoot, they are shocked once the monkey opens fire on them.

All of a sudden, this seems like reality.