Indiana Jones pushed with marching bands

Paramount partners with ESPN for promotion

By Susanne Ault -- Video Business, 10/2/2008

OCT. 2 | Paramount Home Entertainment is hyping the Oct. 14 DVD and Blu-ray Disc release of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull with a $25,000 marching band contest.

ESPN, also sponsoring the contest, will post video on its site of seven university bands playing the Indiana Jones theme, “The Raiders March” by composer John Williams. The top-rated band, as determined by online voters, will score $25,000 from Paramount and the movie’s production company Lucasfilm Ltd. The money will go to the winning school’s band program.

Voters can make their picks now at ESPN.com, keyword ‘Indiana Jones.’

ESPN will run Indiana band contender highlights during College Football Live on Oct. 6, and the winner will be revealed on Oct. 11 during the channel’s College GameDay Built by The Home Depot.

Voters also can win contest loot, as they’ll be entered for a trip to an ESPN-televised Bowl game. Other prizes include copies of the Indiana Jones trilogy DVD set, signed by star Harrison Ford.

Band contestants hail from the University of Southern California, the University of Georgia, the University of Florida, the University of Texas, Clemson University, Louisiana State University and Auburn University.

“College football is synonymous with ESPN, and the Indiana Jones theme song is synonymous with action and adventure,” said Rob Temple, VP at ESPN Sports Management group. “This was a unique way to engage our college football audience, while celebrating the unsung heroes of football Saturdays—the university marching bands.”

Paramount also has partnered with Papa John's Pizza for a promotion for Indiana Jones.

The studio also has given its Iron Man a marketing boost through Dell. The computer maker is selling a number of desktop and notebook models pre-loaded with a digital Iron Man file.