Carrie Stunt Scares Crap Out of NYC Coffee Shop Customers

Carrie - Coffee Shop Telekinesis Stunt

Brian De Palma’s 1976 adaption of Stephen King’s Carrie gave me nightmares for years. In the movie Sissy Spacek plays the title role as the awkward teenager who uses her telekinetic power to takes revenge on her high school classmates (including a young John Travolta) after a horrific prom night prank.

37 years after the original, and 11 years after a 2002 TV movie remake, we’re back with Chloe Grace Moretz taking over the role of Carrie White.

To promote the movie, an elaborate stunt was set up and filmed at a cafe in New York City’s West Village. A special effects team set up false walls, tables that moved by remote control, and books that appeared to fly off the bookshelf. A team of actors were in place to react in horror as a young woman with special powers reacts badly to a spilled coffee.

[via Laughing Squid]

USA

Honda Promotes Mobile App With Tribute to Aryton Senna Using Just Data, Sound and Light

Sound of Honda - Aryton Senna 1989

Sound by Honda is a mobile app created by internavi lab as part of Honda’s Dots (Design Our Transportation Story), a two way information and communications service. the app leverages the smartphones GPS and accelerometer allowing a user to experience the sound of several Honda cars including the Acura NSX-R, S800, Civic R, NII360 Town and the McLaren Honda MP4/5.

To promote the app Honda used telemetry data collected during legendary Honda/McLaren driver Aryton Senna‘s record-setting qualifying lap at the 1989 F1 Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka.

The data collected from the car’s onboard telemetry was used to create the experience of sound and light. Speakers and lights were placed around the Suzuka Circuit along the path that Senna’s car drove on that day, and once night fell the record-setting lap was brought to life using a trail of light and the scream of the Honda/McLaren’s engine.

[via Contagious]

Japan

Toronto Silent Film Festival Uses Instagram to Create Animated Trailer

Toronto Silent Film Festival - InstagramThe Toronto Silent Film Festival, which runs April 4 to 9 at the Phoenix Theatre in Toronto (naturally), is gaining plenty of attention for it’s imaginative use of Instagram to promote the event.

Three Instagram profiles, tsff_1, tsff_2, and tsff_3 were launched, with each consisting of a stream of 60 black and white movie stills on 30 Instagram images. When an Instagram smartphone app user quickly scrolls through the images in slideshow view, the images create a flipbook-like animated trailer.

The campaign was created by Toronto agency Cossette.

[via Ads of the World]

Canada

Squad of LED-Carrying Quadrocopters Create Star Trek Logo in London Sky

Paramount Star Trek Into Darkness Quadrocopters

On Saturday night Paramount Pictures in cooperation with the WWF marked the beginning and end of Earth Hour by displaying a massive Star Trek Academy in the London sky near Tower Bridge.

The 380 foot tall logo was created by the Ars Electronica Futurelab and Ascending Technologies using 30 LED-carrying quadrocopters (or 29, as two collide at 1:20 of the clip below, leaving one falling from the sky) powered by batteries charged in Austria using green energy.

Check out the Ars Electronica blog post ‘Spaxels in London‘ for an in-depth look at the challenging setup of the project.

[via Wired UK]

UK

Creepy Hair Salon Stunt Scares-Up Interest for The Last Exorcism, Part II

The Last Exorcism Part II - Hair Salon Stunt

In 2010, the independently produced horror movie ‘The Last Exorcism’ became a major hit, grossing a total of $41 million, many times over it’s original budget of $1.8 million. The film generated buzz with a grassroots campaign on Chatroulette, in which a girl begins to unbutton her top before transforming into a frightening vision before the viewers eyes. A clip collecting the best of viewer’s reactions have generated millions of views on YouTube.

The sequel, creatively titled ‘The Last Exorcism, Part II‘, is due to be released this Friday. To help generate the same kind of online buzz for the sequel, CBS Films set up cameras in a hair salon and filmed the results as they scared the crap out of customers, thanks to an actress (in creepy possessed-look make-up) positioned behind a two-way mirror.

While the stunt is predictable and not well-produced (or at least the video isn’t), but that hasn’t stopped it from generating over 1.5 million views in less than a week.

[UPDATE March 3] The film wrapped up it’s opening weekend in fourth place, grossing $8 million.

Be warned: Video contains strong language and super-creepy visuals.

[via Business Insider]

USA

Dudes Promote Chasing Mavericks by Surfing the Wild Streets of Manhattan

Chasing Mavericks - Surfing NYC

Mavericks is a legendary surf location for the world’s best big wave surfers. Located about 2 miles offshore off Pillar Point Harbor in Northern California, the unique structure of the ocean floor there is capable or producing waves that can reach 80 feet in height after strong winter storms.

With ‘Chasing Mavericks‘, a movie based on the life of Maverick’s legend Jay Moriarity, starring Jonny Weston, Gerard Butler and Elizabeth Shue, set for release on October 26, two surfers on wheeled-motorized took to the streets and sidewalks on Manhattan to promote the movie.

The stunt was created by Thinkmodo, who also came up with the Zombie Experiment for AMC and a flying people illusion to promote the movie Chronicle.

[via Surfer Today]

USA

Radio Orchestra Surprises Cologne Shoppers with Star Wars Flashmob

WDR Orchestra - Star Wars flashmob

On October 1st, members of the WDR Orchestra surprised people in Cologne’s Wallrafplatz, one of the most popular shopping areas in Germany, with a surprise performance of John Williams’ main title theme from Star Wars.

The WDR Orchestra was created in 1947 following WWII by authorities of the Allied occupation as the orchestra of Nordwestdeutschen Rundfunk (NWDR; Northwest German Radio), and is well-known for it’s performances of Operettas and Jazz, Rock and Pop, film and even video game music..

Germany

Coke Zero Stunt Challenges Would-Be 007s to Win Exclusive Tickets to Skyfall

Unlock the 007 in you. You have 70 seconds!

Recently at Antwerp Central station in Belgium, several unsuspecting Coke Zero customers had the chance to experience 70 seconds of James Bond-like adventure.

After purchasing their Coke Zero from the touchscreen vending machine, customers were presented with the message “Want a Chance to Win Exclusive Tickets to Skyfall”. After entering their name, they received the instructions: “Go to Platform 6. You have 70 seconds to unlock the 007 in you.”

The violin-playing street musician standing next to the vending machine began playing the Bond theme, and the would-be Bond was on his way.

Getting to Platform 6 Antwerp Central station on a normal day is probably quite simple, but several obstacles were placed in the way including joggers, a dog walker, a collapsing fruit stand and of course a Bond girl. Once the person arrived at the platform they had to sing the Bond theme to receive their free Skyfall tickets.

The Skyfall promotional stunt was created by Antwerp agency Duval Guillaume Modem.

Belgium

VisitBritain Celebrates ‘James Bond’ with Secret Agent Competition

VisitBritain - Agent UK

It’s only a few weeks before the release of the latest James Bond movie, Skyfall, (October 26 in the UK, and November 9 in the US) and VisitBritain is inviting would-be 007s to play Agent-UK.

Participants will be challenged to complete 4 missions, unlocking clues to secret locations from Scotland to the north, south east and south west of England.

Successful agents will be eligible for a draw on November 2, with a chance to win a trip for 2 return flights to the UK, luggage, accommodations, tickets for London-area attractions, and an Aston Martin for the weekend (which way to the Chunnel?).

The campaign was put together by London creative agency Brand42.

[via tnooz]

UK

Action-Packed Coke Zero Ad Hums Along to James Bond Theme

Coke Zero - Unlock The 007 In You

Skyfall, the 23rd movie in the James Bond series, and the third to star Daniel Craig, is set for release in late October, and Coke Zero is one of several brands that have partnered up to promote the latest installment of the spy franchise.

One of the constants throughout the series has been the James Bond Theme music, written in 1962 for ‘Dr. No’ by British composer Monty Norman and arranged by John Barry.

In this new Coke Zero ad created by Publicis Paris, the drama and action plays out to the James Bond theme song sung and hummed by the characters.

I’m not sure I can picture 007 sitting down at a casino bar and ordering a Coke Zero, but it’s been reported that he’ll be sipping a Heineken in Skyfall. I’m sure we’ll still see Bond order his signature drink, the vodka martini, shaken, not stirred.

France