Like millions of people around the world, I recently donned my retro-cool 3D glasses and immersed myself in the experience that is Avatar, James Cameron's groundbreaking 3D film. And while I watched Avatar as a movie fan, I also found myself thinking about it within the larger context of entertainment, technology and advertising-and how those three industries are increasingly dependent on one another.

When the Oscar nominations were announced recently, it was no surprise that Avatar was among the most nominated pictures of the year, with nine in all, including nods for Best Picture and Best Director. But what might surprise movie fans - and advertisers - is how closely Cameron worked with Microsoft on the critical element of storing the massive amounts of digital assets required to bring his story to life.

When Avatar was complete, an international marketing campaign to promote Avatar ran on Xbox LIVE. For intensely visual movies like Avatar and last year's Star Trek, directed by J.J. Abrams, broadcast movie trailers are no longer enough, and often fall short when it comes to showing off a film's visual eye candy. That's why a host of movie studios are choosing to market their movies through the Xbox LIVE service. As my LA-based business development manager Randy Shaffer puts it, "the closest medium to the director's vision is through Xbox LIVE-these films are meant to be experienced across a big HD screen, in a very immersive way."

Equally interesting-and extremely relevant to media planners- is that studios and filmmakers are coming to Xbox to find their audience. The elusive 18-34 male demographic, a prime target for blockbuster films like these, are spending a ton of time on Xbox LIVE, and less and less time on network TV, where studios have historically hawked their latest release. Through the LIVE service, the audience can engage with the film in an active way - downloading themes, gamer pics, and movie clips - rather than passively watching a trailer on traditional TV.

Avatar recently surpassed Cameron's other blockbuster (Titanic) as the highest grossing film of all time. And while it can be argued that super-hyped films like Avatar practically sell themselves, it's also clear that the marriage of technology, creativity and marketing had a big role to play in the film's success. I can't wait to see what other visionary filmmakers do in Avatar's wake, and I highly anticipate 3D will be a big part of entertainment going forward. And that's fine with me, now that those 3d shades have gone from geeky to cool.

 

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The Avatar campaign ran across ten international markets on Xbox LIVE. Xbox LIVE is the only gaming and entertainment network which enables simultaneous release of a campaign in 26 markets.