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Markets Love Disney's 'Pirates'

When Walt Disney announced several years ago that it was making a movie called "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl," potential marketing partners scoffed at the idea of a film based on an amusement park ride. But after the movie opened in the summer of 2003 and went on to gross $653 million worldwide, they changed their tune. This year, companies lined up to get a piece of the movie's sequel, Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," which hit theaters earlier this month. A long list of marketing tie-ins--including Volvo, Kodak, Kellogg's, Visa, MySpace and Verizon--followed. Others have latched on to the Pirates launch, although they are not official sponsors or partners. The History Channel's "True Caribbean Pirates" aired July 9, two days after the movie opened. Legoland, a California amusement park, opened its Pirate Shores ride. Oren Aviv, vp of marketing for Disney Studios, says he doesn't mind the hangers-on. "It only confirms, at least in my mind, that we have something really amazing here. We had a number of sponsors last time, but not as much stuff going on as this time."

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