Advertising: 'Jason Lives' Home Video Promotional Mobile Assortment

Advanced promotions of films being released into theaters is a great way to create awareness and anticipation among potential viewers. This is usually accomplished with film trailers, lobby standees and posters. Lobby cards were also utilized in the U.S. through the 1980's, however, marketing a film for home video release in rental stores was just as critical to the overall success of profits for a film.

Paramount Pictures was especially clever in their promotion of the Friday the 13th films when they were being released to Beta, VHS and Laserdisc in the 1980's. Occasionally, we will take a look at certain items that were sent to video rental stores to promote the release of the Friday the 13th films. Today our focus will be on the home video release of Jason Lives: Friday The 13th Part 6.

A very cool little mobile was created for video store promotion for Jason's resurrection that immediately made store visitors aware that the Crystal Lake slasher was on his way back to their living rooms. The mobile consisted of a cardboard axe with blood on the blade and the title of the film on the wooden handle. Hanging below the axe was a hockey mask. Surprisingly, the mask is a blank slate of sorts, with no chevrons and really a different mask altogether than what is seen in the films.

The Jason Lives mobile is a blast from the past and something that hearkens back to a time of the home video store explosion that is fading away quite quickly nowadays. More items like this one will be featured on the website in the future, so keep an eye out for more Friday the 13th goodies!