The Lord of the Rings is a fantasy novel by British author J. R. R. Tolkien, published in 1954. The book has made its way into the hearts of children and adults alike and spread to schools and universities around the world. Given the expansive fantasy setting and characters from a realm beyond the world of men, it is understandable that adapting The Lord of the Rings into a feature film was impossible for decades.
But over time, technology caught up with Tolkien’s amazing imagination, and in 2001, director Peter Jackson finally did the ‘impossible’ and created a film version of the author’s fantasy world that not only met fans’ expectations, but opened up the world of The Lord of the Rings to a whole new generation. Jackson’s original LOTR (Lord of the Rings) trilogy culminated in The Return of the King in 2003. It won an incredible eleven Academy Awards, including Best Picture. In later years, Jackson returned to Tolkien’s world and made a second trilogy adapting The Hobbit, but these films received mixed reception compared to the near universal acclaim garnered by the original three films of the LOTR trilogy.
Low production costs, high revenues
The Fellowship of the Ring, the first film in the Lord of the Rings trilogy featuring some of Hollywood’s biggest talents such as Liv Tyler, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen and Sean Bean, was met with critical acclaim and grossed over $870 million at the box office worldwide. Despite the film’s grand scale, spectacular filming locations and detailed sets, the production cost was only US$93 million. As incredible this amount may seem, in the film industry today, it is a relatively small budget by today’s standards. The production of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies cost $250 million. However, high production costs don’t always translate into impressive sales.
The highest grossing film in the Lord of the Rings trilogy is The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, which grossed over $1.1 billion at the box office worldwide. In second place was The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, which grossed 1.02 billion at the worldwide box office. All three LOTR films performed impressively at the box office despite relatively low production costs.
Production costs and worldwide revenues of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit for the period of 2001-2017 (in millions of USD)
Source: statista.comIn any case, it was a box office hit. And thus, it was also an obvious choice for advertisers. AOL Time Warner’s New Line subsidiary, before the release of the first film, The Fellowship of the Ring, had signed up some 70 promotional “partners”, including Japanese electronics manufacturer JVC and Burger King, which introduced characters from the film in some 10,000 restaurants around the world. The spot below was released in 2001:
Video: Burger King and Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Carlton Draught and a Lord of the Rings parody
An amazing feat has been achieved by Australian beer brand Carlton Draught. It’s “Big Ad” is really in style. It features an epic battle in a New Zealand Lord of the Rings-style setting. This 2005 advert won more than 30 awards, including a Grand Prix at Cannes. The spot is so realistically filmed that at first, you don’t know whether you’re watching a film or an ad. Instead of blood, however, the ad features Australian beer. George Patterson and Partners is the agency behind the brilliant Lord of the Rings-themed ad. One of the factors that contributed to the success of the spot is undoubtedly the music background. Not to mention that the song’s lyrics about a big, expensive ad that will boost sales have actually come true. Sales of the beer have reportedly increased by 10% and the brand has become more widely known thanks to its advertising.
Video: Carlton Draught - Big Ad
Gandalf uses Tide in his washing
Even wizards have to wash their clothes sometimes, especially if they get them dirty in the heat of battle. In case you didn’t know, Gandalf uses Tide. And what’s good for Gandalf is good for you, says the ad for the bleach laundry detergent. How else could the famous wizard from The Lord of the Rings still have such a white robe?
Video: Tide
Middle-earth is attractive for KitKat
It’s not only breweries and washing powder manufacturers that have set their sights on Middle-earth. Wafer and bar manufacturers are also looking to the Lord of the Rings motif. Virtual production with ICVFX was used to bring Middle-earth to life in this epic KitKat ad. The shoot, produced by Wennekar Amsterdam, took place at ReadySet Studios.
Video: KitKat - Have a break, have a KitKat
Thanks to the close collaboration of the director, cinematographer, production designer and the ICVFX art team, a seamless blend of real scenes and virtual backdrops was achieved. But this isn’t the only KitKat ad that was inspired by The Lord of the Rings:
Video: KitKat - Have an epic break
AT&T Internet and Elijah Wood
AT&T Internet bet on actor Elijah Wood who portrayed Frodo Baggins for its AT&T Fiber ad that shined at Super Bowl 2021. The humorous ad evokes a situation where the Lord of the Rings fans have the opportunity to ask the adored actor one question. Because of slow internet, what will happen with the question of a fan who dressed up as Frodo to be closer to his idol?
Video: AT&T Fiber - Super Fan
Frodo wouldn’t make it without Cerveza Cristal
The Chilean brand Cerveza Cristal likes to interfere with filmmakers’ works. For example, during the first broadcast of Star Wars on Chile’s Channel 13, it incorporated its beer directly into certain scenes, causing a scandal. Finally, the brand got away with it, even winning the Media Grand Prix at the Cannes Lions. Naturally, The Lord of the Rings didn’t escape the beer brand’s attention either. And here, too, beer cans are integrated directly into the film’s scenes:
Video: Cerverza Cristal
Air New Zealand flies to the Middle-earth
The New Zealand Auckland-based airline uses a number of Tolkien characters in its ads, promoting Peter Jackson’s films. The main characters are Gandalf, Gwaihir, orcs, hobbits and elves. The videos feature Jackson, Dean O'Gorman, Sylvester McCoy and Elijah Wood. In its 2013 spot, Air New Zealand shows that not everything is as it seems, and before you know it, everything around you can take on a bit of a hobbit-like appearance. So, if you get four large onions for lunch on a plane, you will know right away what is going on:
Video: Air New Zealand - Just Another Day in Middle-earth
Just a year later, the airline made an absolutely stunning ad, which they say is “the most epic safety video ever made”. We really couldn’t agree more. You can’t imagine a better briefing on safety regulations. In the ad, you can spot Peter Jackson, Elijah Wood and Richard Taylor as passengers.
Video: Air New Zealand - The Most Epic Safety Video Ever Made
The Lord of the Rings goes on
The new Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim has arrived in cinemas. The story is set 183 years before the events of the original trilogy and tells the story of the line of Helm Hammerhand, the legendary King of Rohan. The film, a co-production between Japan, the USA and New Zealand, is directed by Kenji Kamiyama, a legend in anime films for twenty years. He directed, for example, Cyborg 009 and Kōkaku Kidōtai. We have a chance to see how he approached the theme, and brands have another source of inspiration for their new ad campaigns. Will this new film also be advertisers’ precious?