Marketing for IT: How It Connected Childhood Terror to One Clown & ITs Red Balloon

From one King's adaptation to another one much more recent. Also one adaptation that Mr. King has declared to fully enjoy. And one in which he made a cameo. Although it was in the sequel to this movie. We are talking, of course, about... IT. Date of release: September 8, 2017.

From an unsettling, strange hotel to a small town with a nasty creature that fed on kids. Let's not waste a single more second. A quick runaround about the plot. And then the marketing for IT. 

What's The Plot?

Bill Denbrough makes a paper sailboat for his 6-year-old brother, Georgie. Excited, Georgie gets out to sail the boat along the rainy streets of Derry, until it falls down a storm drain. There Pennywise lures him, bites his arm off, and drags him into the sewer.

The next summer, Bill and his friends, Richie, Eddie, and Stanley, investigate Georgie's disappearance in the marshe, believing he might be alive. Ben, one of Bill's new classmates, learns that Derry has been plagued by child disappearances for centuries. Ben, Beverly Marsh, and Mike Hanlon join the group formed by Bill and his friends, otherwise known as the Losers Group. After this, every kid experiences a terrifying manifestation of Pennywise. They realize they are being stalked by the same entity, which they name "IT".

Relying on Ben's research, they understand that it feeds every 27 years on the children of Derry before going back into hibernation. Also, that it moved through the sewer system. They find Pennywise and confront him, with Beverly impaling him through the head, forcing IT to retreat. Then the group splits, scared from the encounter. Only Bill and Beverly are determined to fight IT head-on.

Couple of weeks later, Pennywise abducts Beverly after she fought off her child predator of a father. The Losers Club reassembles to save her, and they return to the abandoned house, where they first found Pennywise. From there, they descend into the sewers and find IT's lair. They see an enormous number of children floating in midair. Beverly is present but catatonic. 

Pennywise manages to grab Bill and asks for Bill's life to leave them alone, as he will go back to hibernation. Its offer is promptly refused, and they fight IT off by showing that they are not afraid of IT. They defeat IT, who escapes deeper into the sewers. Bill also finds Georgie's raincoat, finally accepting his death. As the summer ends, Beverly lets the group know of a vision she had while catatonic, where they will fight Pennywise again in the future. The losers make a blood oath to return to Derry if Pennywise returns. 

Signature Choice of Imagery

Pennywise and his iconic red balloon were used heavily by marketing. The balloon became one with the movie. If anyone saw it somewhere, it made them think of IT. Such a powerful and memorable image that built suspense. It was used in billboards, posters, and digital ads, not showing too much. Just inviting you in. Making you drop your guard. And then grabbing you by the ankles and making you disappear under the sewer system.

Positive Feelings for the Teaser Trailer

The first teaser trailer for IT was a viral sensation from the start. It had millions of views within days. Nevermind days, it had 197 million views within 24 hours. Why? It had tension peppered all over it. Showing Pennywise in small timeframes and focusing on the uncanny atmosphere surrounding Derry, Maine, was the right choice. Including the taste of horror the Losers Club was gonna experience soon. The trailers intrigued the audiences but left the rest to imagination. Making people anxious to see the movie.

Immersive Experience with a Clown Craze

The marketing team orchestrated two experiential campaigns. The first one was the Pop-Up events. In some cities, people could explore the unnatural environments that mimicked the town of Derry and maybe encounter 'Pennywise'.

The second one was Pennywise Sightings. A clever guerilla marketing strategy, where a huge number of people reported creepy clown sightings. This was during the time of the phenomenon called the Clown Craze. Yes, you can blame the marketing team of IT. Especially if you saw one of them and suddenly felt the warm embrace of processed food in your underwear. 

Bringing Their Social Media A-Game

In this day and age, it's no wonder social media had quite the impact on the campaign. Everyone is constantly scrolling through one of the various platforms, and IT was on all of them. The accounts posted perplexing messages, alarming images, and short clips. All in an effort to engage fans. It worked like a charm. Aided by the trailer going viral along with the memes and discussions about Pennywise, it just amplified the excitement to watch the movie tenfold.

Nostalgia is an Old Lover, But Reliable

This new adaptation had an ace under its sleeve. It was nostalgia for the original 90's miniseries and Stephen King's novel. They sang the horn of terror to both older fans, who grew up with the story, and younger audiences by using a modern tone and adding visual effects for a darker, scarier approach. 

Word of Mouth through General Audiences & Critics Alike

The audiences showed nothing but love in the early screenings. Weirdly enough, the critics were its biggest fans too. They said it was one of the best horror movies they had seen in years. As a no-brainer, marketing leaned hard into this praise. Which, in turn, encouraged viewers to watch the movie in theaters.

Bill Skarsgård's Pennywise & Tapping Into Childhood Fears

The portrayal of Pennywise by Bill Skarsgård was a focus point in the ads. His terrifying appearance unsettled everyone. And it was great for the movie's marketing, but also Bill's own marketing as an actor. It helped him solidify the position of a horror icon. Which, funnily enough, like a circle, drew attention at the movie.

Another way marketers played the fear factor was to reveal the universal childhood fears. With a common one being the fear of clowns. In this case, the embodiment of this fear was none other but Pennywise. Which became a symbol of terror, even for those people who knew nothing about IT.

Conclusion

The marketing for this movie was excellent. They only played to their strengths. The nostalgia element, the red balloon, the teasing, Bill's Pennywise.

And the most insane move, the Clown Craze. That guerilla marketing stunt was nothing short of amazing. Imagine scaring a whole country for the sole purpose of marketing your movie to its fullest. And work it did.

The subconscious of people was infested with fear from clowns that they had as kids and from the recent stunt. That laid the groundwork for when IT was about to come out.