Best-Ever Social Media Campaigns. Blair Witch Project is the first, Forbes says

Blair Witch Project, best-ever social media campaign

This is considered the best-ever social media campaign and one of the first viral marketing efforts. The marketers behind this horror flick were able to generate big buzz for a movie with a teeny budget by using Web sites and message boards to stoke interest in the flick months before its release in the summer of 1999. Was the story of young documentary makers lost in the woods true or false? Fake newspaper clippings about the disappearance of the movie’s main characters and police photos of their missing car were posted. Movie site Box Office Mojo reports that the film made more than $29 million during its first week of wide release. It has generated about $249 million to date worldwide.

See all In Pictures: Best-Ever Social Media Campaigns – 1. “The Blair Witch Project” – Forbes.com.