Paramount Pictures deployed a daring and cheeky marketing strategy for the The Naked Gun reboot, blending guerrilla humor, nostalgia, and a rallying cry to “Save Comedy.”
From OnlyFans satire to mock PSA videos, the campaign reframed ticket purchases as activism for a genre in decline.
🚀 OnlyFans PR stunt: Creative chaos with no paywall
Paramount launched an official Naked Gun OnlyFans account in late July just days before the August 1 release.
The page featured free subscription, no nudity, and absurd pun-driven imagery: jam‑dripping toast, overflowing laundry, captions like “top secret—unless you subscribe… then it’s topless too.”
Objective: Use a platform with adult connotations to bait curiosity and viral conversation with zero risk of offense.
Impact: The stunt generated coverage across outlets like Creative Bloq and FandomWire, drawing comments such as “marketing budget said go full chaos.”Sony never confirmed the stunt publicly. That was the point. It felt unbranded, real, and menacing inviting speculation, conversation, and fear. OnlyFans signups hit 10K+ in the first 24 hours, with thousands sharing viral screenshots.
🎥 “Save Comedy” Mock PSA: Comedy as a Cause
On July 22, a satirical PSA featuring Liam Neeson as Lt. Frank Drebin Jr. launched, urging audiences that comedy is dying and can only be saved by buying movie tickets. It incorporated slow-motion clips of classics like Anchorman, Tropic Thunder, and Tommy Boy, all owned or streamable via Paramount+.
Neeson cites the steep decline of theater-only PG‑13/R-rated comedies - the top adult comedy of 2025 grossed just over $50M, and no more than two such comedies have cracked the year-end top 10 since 2005.
Viewers directed to SaveComedy.org, a microsite that redirects to ticket purchases, turning attendance into a symbolic action. The Save Comedy PSA garnered 5M+ views within 48 hours and saw a ~8% conversion rate from referral traffic.
🤳 Guerrilla Visuals & Merchandise: Local Comedy Flags
In addition, the film used a wild (and robust) range of OOH, social, and influencer tactics including:
Billboards in NYC, Chicago, LA with lines like: “Honk if you hate noise violations.”
Themed in-theater promo items: popcorn buckets referencing franchise jokes, giant rubber plungers, snack packages with “Late to a crime? Blame Drebin.”
Photo-station activations with AR overlays (Drebin mustache, donut helmet) and fan tagging opportunities (#SaveComedy, #NakedGun2025).
Influencers and film critics posted parody reaction videos: “Joined the OnlyFans… and the only thing ‘naked’ was my boredom - it’s so Drebin.”
Movie marketing intel: This week in trends
IMMERSIVE LAUNCH 🌆 Marvel reimagines fan engagement for The Fantastic Four (CinemaBlend)
Marvel is shaking up traditional promotion with a retro-style campaign for The Fantastic Four: First Steps, complete with 1960s-inspired press releases, a fake Men’s Health cover featuring The Thing, and even a Zillow-style listing for the Baxter Building. It’s a meta, world-building strategy designed to make audiences feel part of the story before the film even drops.
HORROR WITH A TWIST 💍 NEON turns proposals into promotion for Together (People)
NEON is marketing its new horror film Together with the #TogetherContest, encouraging fans to propose in theaters. The most creative entry wins a Las Vegas wedding, judged by stars Dave Franco and Alison Brie tying the campaign directly to the film’s themes of commitment and co-dependence while generating viral, shareable content.
This week’s movie review: I Know What You Did Last Summer — ★★½ (2.5/5)
Despite a few chilling set pieces and nostalgic callbacks, the legacy sequel struggles with pacing and thin character development, ultimately failing to recapture the suspense of the original.
