The Mouse goes Hog Wild, as every division at Disney does what it can to promote “The Muppets”

Jim Hill

13 years ago

You know that "The Muppets" is opening in theaters this
Wednesday, right?

I mean, how could you not? Given that – for weeks now –
virtually every division of The Walt Disney Company has been doing what it can
to get the word out about this new Walt Disney Pictures release.

Don't believe me? Okay, then let's take a quick stroll
around the corporation and see what the various divisions at Disney have been
doing to promote Miss Piggy and pals.

For starters, the divine Miss P was a guest star of that
Disney Channel interstitial talk show, "Take Two with Phineas and Ferb."

Photo by Todd Wawrychuk.
Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved

Miss Piggy also put in an appearance on that Disney Channel
variety show, "So Random!," where she played Rapunzel to Tiffany Thornton's
Cinderella & Allisyn Ashley Arm's Sleeping Beauty in a "Real Princess of New Jersey" sketch.

(L to R) Miss Piggy,
Tiffany Thornton and Allisyn Ashley Arm on set for "So Random."
Photo by Adam
Rose. Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved

Meanwhile, over at ESPN, Kermit the Frog and Gonzo visited
with Mike Greenberg & Mike Golic on the Mike and Mike Show …

… while Statler and Waldorf sat in with Michelle Beadle and
Colin Cowherd on "SportsNation."

While on ABC … It's probably easier to list the shows that the
Muppets haven't been on over the past 10 days. Miss Piggy charmed the late
night crowd with her appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!"

Photo by Carin Baer.
Copyright American Broadcasting Companies, Inc.
All rights reserved

While early risers got to watch as the Muppets took over "Good
Morning America" …

(L to R) Sam Champion,
Josh Elliott, Gonzo, Robin Roberts, Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy,
George
Stephanopoulos, Pepe and Lara Spencer in the Times Square studio of "Good
Morning America." Photo by Ida Mae Astute. Copyright American Broadcasting
Companies, Inc. All rights reserved

… invading virtually every part of this ABC News production,
including the cooking segment.

Emeril Lagasse and the
Swedish Chef show how to prepare a Thanksgiving feast.
Photo by Ida Mae Astute.
Copyright American Broadcasting Companies, Inc.
All rights reserved

Meanwhile on the primetime side of ABC, the Muppets turned
up on "Dancing with the Stars – The Semi-Finals Results Show." Where they then
performed a version of "The Muppets" opening & closing number, "Life's a
Happy Song" …

Photo by Adam Taylor. Copyright
American Broadcasting Companies, Inc.
All rights reserved

… while Statler & Waldorf sat in for Len Goodman and
Bruno Tonioli and then heckled poor Tom Bergeron.

Photo by Adam Taylor.
Copyright American Broadcasting Companies, Inc.
All rights reserved

Piggy & Kermit also made a brief appearance on "Desperate
Housewives" last Sunday night, during which Miss P put the slug on Vanessa Williams
for lusting after her frog.

Miss Piggy also turned up on the 45^th annual CMA
Awards (which – not-so-co-incidentally – aired on ABC this year), where she first locked Carrie Underwood in her dressing room and then punched out Brad Paisley.

Which – I know – may seem like an odd show for the Muppets
to make a promotional appearance on. But Disney was determined to do whatever
it had to in order to get the word out about "The Muppets." Which is why Kermit
& Co. wound up on WWE's "Monday Night Raw" on October 31^st.
Where – in one truly surreal moment – WWE superstar Sheamus rescued Beaker and then helped him with
his 'do.

In addition to their "Monday Night Raw" appearance, the Muppets also popped up on several other
high-profile, non-Disney-owned programs. Among them "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" …

… "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" …

.. as well as "Saturday Night Live" on NBC.

Meanwhile, back on the Mouse House side of things, Disney
Parks and Resorts helped get the word out about "The Muppets" by having Miss
Piggy make an appearance in Disneyland's Halloween parade.

… while D23 – the Official Disney Club – put the Muppets on
the cover of their Winter 2011 issue of Disney Twenty-three magazine.

… while Walt Disney Records actually released two albums to
help promote this Walt Disney Pictures release, "Muppets: The Green Album" …

… which featured contemporary rock and alternative artists
like OK-GO, Weezer and Andrew Bird covering classic Muppet tunes like "Rainbow
Connection," "It's Not Easy Being Green" and "The Muppets Show theme song."
Plus – of course – the original soundtrack recording for "Disney The Muppets."

While on the retail side of things, this past Friday night,
the Downtown Disney District at the Disneyland Resort just hosted a "Muppets
Mayhem at D Street" event. Which was where Noah, Dez Einswell and Jon Chase
unveiled a wide variety of Muppet-themed clothing, original and limited edition
artwork, skate decks and Vinylmation.

Meanwhile, this past Saturday at malls all over the country,
the Disney Store held a Muppet
Craftational event …

… where youngsters were encouraged to create their own
Muppets by using a paperbag and a few stick-on accessories.

And if that wasn't enough, Disney then roped in additional
promotional partners to help get the word out about "The Muppets." Among them
Alamo Rent A Car …

… which encouraged its customers to take part in their Muppet-themed
"Get the Gang Back Together Vacation Sweepstakes." Which gave renters the
chance to win $5000 as well as other daily prizes. Not to mention Underwriters Lab's "Commit a
Minute to Safety" series of holiday safety PSAs …

… as well as that Wonderful Pistachios commercial which
Kermit has begun appearing in.

Mind you, not all of Disney's cross-promotional plans (which
the Mouse had mapped out months in advance) wound out working out. Take – for example
– Miss Piggy's appearance at New York Fashion Week in September …

… which was supposed to be a prelude to Piggy's appearance
as a guest judge on "Project Runway All Stars." Unfortunately, Lifetime's
decision to push the next round of this reality series 'til sometime in 2012
screwed up Disney's plan to have this special Miss-Piggy-centric episode of "Project
Runway" air just as "The Muppets" was opening in theaters.

But when you consider how much the Mouse has gotten right
with its Whole Hog campaign to promote "The Muppets" …. Well, as Disney CEO Bob
Iger said earlier this month during the Company's Q4 earnings conference call …

On Thanksgiving weekend, The Muppets will hit theaters in
what we believe will rebuild another beloved franchise. (This) is a movie that
is going to cost less than $50 million to produce … (which has) a huge amount
of momentum right now.

Thanks – in large part – to the Company-wide promotional
plan that Disney put together for "The Muppets."

But what about you folks? Are you like the 86% of Rotten
Tomatoes readers who really want to see "The Muppets." Or has the Company's carpet-bombing-style
promotional campaign for this new Walt Disney Pictures release made it less
likely that you'll see this new Muppet movie during its domestic run?

Your thoughts?