Undercover advertising for The Simpsons

Updated 10.08 Wed Jul 25 2007

Keywords: entertainment, cinema, film, The Simpsons, business, marketing

The makers of The Simpsons movie have shunned the tried and tested ways of advertising the film.

They have chosen a small group of partner companies to run promotions, so there has not been any television advertising.

"We looked for partners who would either go yellow in celebration for the Simpsons movie or incorporate a tactic into their marketing campaign" - Lisa Licht

They are relying instead on promotions in shops and some strange gimmicks, including the painting of a huge chalk image of Homer Simpson next to the Cerne Abbas fertility symbol.

Lisa Licht, Executive vice president of global marketing partnerships for 20th Century Fox said: "We wanted it to feel more event like, bigger and special. So we looked for partners who would either go yellow in celebration for the Simpsons movie, or incorporate a tactic into their marketing campaign."

The promoters handed out placards to fans at Wimbledon earlier this month, hoping they would be held up on centre court, giving the film global promotion.

But officials from the All England Club confiscated the boards as spectators entered the grounds.