Sony Uses Old School Social Media Device to Promote “The Roommate”

Sony Pictures has launched an old school media campaign for the upcoming film The Roommate, featuring a fairly archaic vehicle for interactivity: A phone number.

The studio is posting an ad in various cities stating “Roommate Wanted. Must be willing to share…everything. Killer personality a plus” along with an invitation to call Rebecca at (866) 666-6001. The call leads to a recording featuring star Leighton Meester as Rebecca stating that she’s looking for the perfect roommate and “We can share everything…” and concludes with Meester yelling “I just want to be your friend” after whipping herself up into a frenzy.

Sony’s campaign for The Roommate, a thriller premiering February 4, also contains the usual social media hooks, like pages on Facebook, YouTube and MySpace, as well as a Twitter feed.

The use of a phone number leading to an in-character conversation is an old device by movie marketers that has been used sparingly. One of the most memorable recent uses was by Warner Bros. for the 2008 movie The Dark Knight, which the studio promoted with an online game that awarded winners with a cake (picked up at a local bakery) bearing a phone number that led to a recording from the villain in that movie, the Joker.