The official movie website goes beyond the standard trailers, icons, video assets and mobile offerings, giving fans access to Springfield's best known locations. Though many key sites still bore the Coming Soon label two weeks prior to the film's premiere, site visitors can get an overview of the town and stop in to Moe's Tavern for a drink with Homer, Barney and friends. There are also some movie-centric games on the site, like "Wrecking Ball." But the site feature that really built some buzz was the Simpsons avatar generator. Fans choose from a range of facial and body features, and can then insert their yellow-skinned doppelgangers into a blog or profile. If you register on the site, your avatar also appears throughout the virtual Springfield locations.
Beyond the website, the film's marketers pulled out all the stops when it came to partnerships and product tie-ins. Rumored to be in talks with 7-Eleven for months, Fox recently rebranded 11 of the chain's convenience stores as Kwik-E-Marts, complete with signage, character standees and signature merchandise like Buzz Cola, Squishees and Krusty-Os cereal. Lines to get in to the Los Angeles location have been around the block around the clock, and other locations have reported similar patronage levels.
In addition, Burger King has launched the "Simpsonizer." Similar to the official site's avatar generator, fans can upload a photo to see what they might look as a Simpson and can insert the resulting image in a blog, the official site or even get it printed on a t-shirt. And JetBlue has become the official airline of Springfield, its website featuring fare specials inspired by Chief Wiggum and a takeover of the company's blog by curmudgeonly gazilionaire, C. Montgomery Burns.
Finally, as the true location of Springfield has never been revealed throughout the show's 18-year history, Fox decided to let the fans decide through a unique video contest. Thirteen Springfields in the U.S. created video testimonials on why their city should be chosen as the official Simpsons' Springfield. The winner, Springfield, Vt., was selected by voters and will host the film's official premiere.
-- Jodi Harris, managing editor, Entertainment Spot
The first thing I did on the site was to create my own Groening-inspired avatar, which worked wonders for my self-image, and later showed up on my visit to Moe's standing at the bar with the regulars (and cleverly below a sign posted "wanted for fake ID"). The site also features games, downloads, galleries and of course, video trailers and teasers of the film itself (which can be easily added to one's MySpace, iPod, or Blog - a no-brainer for the viral contingent of Simpsons loyalists). All in all, this is a site with great promise, as long as it can avoid Bart's habit of underachieving and procrastinating: let's get those other sections live!
-- Jason Scheidt, director of marketing, EyeWonder, Inc.
About 8 weeks ago, with the help of a skilled therapist, I finally accepted the fact that I may never be asked to make a guest appearance on "The Simpsons." And I'm ok with that. Sort of. It wasn't the lost opportunity for my 15 minutes of fame, nor being denied the hundreds, or possibly even thousands of dollars of TV star income that that was hardest to for me accept. It was the fact that I'd never get to see myself as rendered by Simpsons' animators, with bugged eyes, a potbelly and an overbite. Then I stumbled on "The Simpsons Movie" website. The site has all the standard digital diversions to promote the upcoming movie, but the site's killer app is a tool for creating your very own Simpsons character avatar, allowing non-celebs (like me) to create a Springfield-friendly alter ego.
It would seem I am not alone in my overwhelming desire to become a temporary resident of Springfield. Apparently there is huge pool of people eager to know just what they'd look like as Simpsons' guest stars, and they all seem to have found their way to this site to recast themselves in the Simpsons' mold. The avatars seem to be popping up everywhere on the internet where a profile pic is accepted. They are all over Flickr, Facebook and MySpace (especially in the friends section on "The Simspons Movie" MySpace account). A Google search on "Simpsons avatar" returns 2.8 million results. A search on the exact phrase, "my Simpsons avatar" returns 37,900 results…and the site has been live less than a month. What is great about the success of this campaign is that it is not easy to imitate. The campaign is driven by the quality of the Simpsons content and the loyalty of the fan base that content has attracted.
-- Patrick V. Barrett, senior interaction designer, Bazaarvoice