In our building, there are several other tenants. One of those neighbors is Mike “Bubba Summs” Summers—publisher of the Fort Wayne Reader. Because of a past review he did on some Syfy show, Mike now receives some amazing promotional materials from the cable channel. When he’s done looking at it, he brings these intricate, limited edition direct-mailers down the hall for us designers to drool over.
These pictures represent just some of the promotional pieces we’ve collected over the years. It initially blew us away how much production (and cost!) must go into making these things—from completely custom boxes and covers to pop-up books and useable stamps. We haven’t found out who designs these little works of art, but perhaps it’s internal staff at Syfy. Either way it’s fun work!
Some of the highlights include a promotional book on a vampire-related TV show that had so many unique inserts—including a replica blood pouch, bubble wrap and fabric swatches—all contained in a thick, custom sleeve. Then there was the advertisement for Destination Truth which was a 3-D castle that upon lifting out of its surrounding packaging, let out a ghostly shriek from an embedded music chip. I also enjoyed a piece showing the use of lenticular printing for a show all about before-and-afters.
We hope we keep getting these in the future as it’s some great inspiration for our own projects!
