"The Asian Art Museum today announced that its 'lost' Chinese terracotta warrior, reported missing and wandering the Bay Area, has been found."

Thus concluded one of the more memorable, unconventional recent attempts by a museum to promote an exhibition. The "lost" warrior—an exquisitely made-up and costumed actor—is meant to draw attention to San Francisco's recently rebranded Asian Art Museum show of antiquities from China's famous Xian Terracotta Army (Feb. 22–May 27).

We spoke with the museum about the ins and outs of the unique campaign and how they introduced the idea to their Chinese partners. Continue reading...

As Hollywood's year winds to a close, it's a weekend of "colons." Three sequels are hitting theaters with the industry hoping audiences are more interested in seeing an old idea again over anything new.

The Hollywood fare opening this weekend — Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows and ‪Alvin and The Chipmunks: Chip Wrecked‬ — use colon-tastic titles in lieu of roman numerals. Sequels they are nonetheless. Even the product placement and marketing seems reheated.Continue reading...

Other than the fact that they're both sequels of massive box office successes, the two big films opening this weekend, Kung Fu Panda 2 and The Hangover: Part 2, couldn't be more different. One is for immature audiences and the other is Kung Fu Panda 2. KIDDING! 

DreamWorks' PG-rated Kung Fu Panda sequel will go up against the Warner Bros. R-rated Hangover return in a battle for completely different demographics. And when it comes to product placement, the two franchises are, as you might expect, different beasts as well.Continue reading...

Skadoosh! That's the catchphrase of Po, the panda played by Jack Black in the upcoming sequel of Kung Fu Panda. To promote the new film, Dreamworks Animation and The Visionaire Group have set up a fun interactive YouTube channel.

The video above features Jack Black, in person, practicing his line "Skadoosh" for the new movie. He has an idea, walks off screen, followed by a "Click for epicness" link that stays up. Go ahead, click it...Continue reading...

Credit Disney with the first large-scale branding of imaginary characters. The house that Walt built is one of the great branding and licensing machines on the planet, and serves up characters galore as a regular part of its marketing menu.

Mickey Mouse, Goofy, Snow White, Belle from "Beauty and the Beast" and other figments of the imagination are not just characters but perennial revenue producers through merchandise sales and "appearances" at Disneyland, Disney World, and Disney Resorts. They also don't grow up and wind up in the tabloids.

That's why other character rights-holders are following suit, including DreamWorks — which makes perfect sense as it's run by former Disney animation head Jeffrey Katzenberg.Continue reading...

The majority of retailers seem to jump right from Halloween to Christmas with nothing more than a mere nod towards Thanksgiving and a few glittery gourds in the window display. Based purely on the gathering together of family, it is a holiday which does not require much decoration, dressing up or gift-giving.

But this is America, and we cannot let that slide!

Luckily, Macy’s saves the day on Nov. 25 with its annual Thanksgiving Day Parade, chock full of tethered (and untethered) commercialism. After all, the retail giant has a Black Friday sale the day after to promote — and holiday shoppers to excite, of course.

Cue its child-oriented marketing machine, including the extended commercial that is Yes, Virginia — its animated special airing on CBS on Dec. 17.Continue reading...