Indy Widget Contest Problematic

The first trailer for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was organically superdistributed well enough, but apparently that’s not enough for Paramount.

Paramount is counting on the small, portable applications that can be posted on blogs and social networks to maximize the exposure for its trailers. The first “Skull” trailer, released in March, has racked up millions of views.

Paramount turned to widget provider Clearspring for “Skull,” which will include a contest with the release of the second trailer. The two fans who manage to distribute their “Skull” widgets most will win trips to the world premiere of the movie and the chance to be red-carpet correspondents in footage that will be streamed onto the “Skull” widgets following the premiere.

While I’m glad to see a studio seriously push its own online video widget, I may not be comfortable posting a widget under such tight centralized tracking and control. The only time I do that is when I’m definitely getting paid for it (like with ads). It just smacks too much of offline video’s command-and-control mentality.

Furthermore, any two A-listers who embed the widget (think Arrington or Hilton) would instantly win. That’s a discouraging thought. We’d just end up with two more celebs on the red carpet.