How ‘Anchorman 2’ could change the way movies are marketed

The unprecedented social media push for Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues could provide a new template for movie marketing, Adweek reports. To promote the film, star Will Ferrell is appearing as Ron Burgundy in truck commercials, Huffington Post op-eds, online games, and a seemingly endless series of viral videos designed to court global audiences. (In one memorable clip, he shares his thoughts on the recent Australian elections.) The linchpin of the entire operation has been Tumblr, where GIFs are helping the movie to get widespread viral promotion. “Hollywood is slowly but steadily coming to employ user-generated GIFs and memes as branding vehicles,” Adweek reports. “The memes may start out at Tumblr, but more importantly — and this is key — they’re often exported to Facebook and Twitter’s broader platforms.”