Forget the Super Wolf Blood Moon! Remember ‘Twilight: New Moon’?

As people talk about the super wolf blood moon this month, 10 years ago a different moon was rising. Twilight Saga: New Moon opened in November 2009 to horrific reviews, but that didn’t hurt its box office or marketing. It was the seventh highest grossing film that year and every vendor wanted a bite of this vampire film.

• Fast Food: Burger King offered Twilight-themed meals with merchandise and coupons available in store and online (in-store coupons—say what!). They even played off the Team Jacob v. Team Edward fan rivalry.
• Toys: Barbie dolls got into the action. Yikes!
• Cosmetics: Retailer Lip Venom launched a Twilight line. Got to have rosy lips for necking!
• Automotive: In the film, hunky vamp Eddy drove a Volvo and the car brand gave its consumers the ability to enter a sweepstakes with a chance to attend the premiere, meet cast members, and receive their own Volvo XC60.
• Literature: Wuthering Heights, first published in 1847, was republished with a cover identical to Twilight with “Bella and Edward’s Favorite Book” smacked on front.
• Phones: AT&T offered Twilight ringtones. There was also an iPhone app that connected fans via message boards!
• Social Media: New Moon dominated social media with millions of followers on Facebook and constant coverage by blogs and fan sites. Habbo, a teen social media community, even created Twilight-themed worlds. It was an online campaign that seems commonplace now, but in ’09 was a trailblazer.

New Moon was the second film in a franchise where the movies weren’t good and haven’t aged well—but it’s marketing strategy set the bar for future franchises. In the age of superheroes, it’s hard to remember there was an age of vampires, but there was and they sucked everything dry.