Will Ferrell has been a busy man already this year. Ferrell has already participated in two PR stunts for two different films since January. In his latest stunt Ferrell played every position for 10 different Major League Baseball teams on Thursday. Ferrell partnered with the MLB to film a segment for an upcoming HBO series.
In January Ferrell was 'thrown out' of a Pelicans-Lakers game after he threw a basketball and hit a cheerleader in the face. Of course Ferrell wasn't arrested because the stunt was for a scene in an upcoming movie starring Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg.
These aren't the only times Ferrell has done outrageous and genius stunts to promote his upcoming works. For Anchorman 2 Ferrell went on a 'media blitz' where he visited numerous news stations and helped report the news. He also visited various late shows and interviewed sports celebrities all while maintaining his Ron Burgundy persona.
Ferrell has been known for his outrageous movies and now is known for his excellent marketing skills. Of course he's not the lone brainchild of coming up with these ideas, he undoubtedly has a team of people that come up with how he's going to promote his upcoming projects. His team knows whom to market. Most of Ferrell's movies are geared towards males so by having most of the promotions at sporting events and sporting channels it's reaching a huge male audience. However, what I am most impressed about is his willingness to do almost anything for laughs and a good cause. The MLB event on Thursday is a great example of that because memorabilia from the day is going to be auctioned off and all the proceeds are going to Cancer for College and Stand Up to Cancer. I think that's so great to turn a PR/Marketing ploy and use it for a good cause while promoting work.
Some people feel like the Anchorman 2 promotion was a little excessive, but if you're a fan of those movies then you understand why that choice was made. The character Ron Burgundy is an over-the-top, eccentric, and obnoxious person so it was smart to make it as elaborate as it was because it fits the character. A lot of the times entertainment marketing is not executed well when using celebrities to promote their movies, it often seems like they're trying too hard. However, with Will Ferrell the entertainment industry uses his talents so impeccably well it causes major success in promotion. The movie and show he's promoting aren't coming out anytime soon but they already have him out promoting them because they know his talent, personality, and fan base will leave an impression people will remember.
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