Anchorman Press Tour Represents Fragmented Media

“Boy, that escalated quickly… I mean that really got out of hand fast.” Ron Burgundy has never spoken truer words. These words are also apt for describing the far-reaching press tour launched for the release of the highly anticipated sequel Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues. In the months preceding the December 18^th movie launch, Will Ferrell infiltrated many media outlets, in character, to promote the film.

From March 2013 to September 2013, Ron Burgundy recorded YouTube videos on topics such as the American Football League and Australian elections, focusing on foreign markets. Burgundy also appeared at the San Diego Film Festival to honor producer Judd Apatow.

But the real impact began with the October 4th launch of the Ron Burgundy campaign for the Dodge Durango. Seventy versions of the 30 second spots were recorded. The ads first appeared solely on YouTube but later aired on multiple TV networks. Dodge boasted a 59 percent increase in sales during the month of October.

On October 30^th, Burgundy promoted his autobiography Let Me Off at the Top! My Classy Life and Other Musings. The November 19^th release of the book was complete with book signings and it can still be purchased on Amazon for as little as $7.99.

The next couple of months were rife with Ron Burgundy appearances across multiple platforms. The New Yorker published an excerpted chapter of his autobiography; he presented an award at the MTV EMAs, hosted a contest to join his news team, appeared on Conan, starred in a local North Dakota newscast and released a slew of YouTube videos.

Popular blog Grantland hailed the multifaceted campaign as genius: “..the full realization of Ron Burgundy apparently has some smart minds behind it who understand the importance of making the cartoonish jazz flutist and charming buffoon as real as possible. It’s working…”

Although the portrayal of fictional character Ron Burgundy as a real entity was key to the campaign, it can also be seen as a reflection of the fragmented media in a digital age. We are past the days of releasing a movie trailer and calling it a day. If a brand or, in this case, a film wants to penetrate the lives of those in its target market, it has to be everywhere. The original launch of the Dodge Durango ads via YouTube alone is just the beginning of major multi-platform campaigns moving to a more fragmented and increasingly digital presence. Even the traditional aspects of the Ron Burgundy campaign were inevitable designed to gain traction with online audiences by “going viral”. The local news broadcast from North Dakota exemplifies this. There are several versions of the video on YouTube, garnering over a million views. As media continues to evolve in a digital age, more and more brands will follow in Ron Burgundy’s footsteps.

Vulture Burgundy Press Tour
Grantland Burgundy Press Tour