DVD 3 ROTK Marketing

The Return of the King

The Return of the King DVD Promos 1

Theatrical Release Digital Asset Kit

ROTK Theatrical Edition DVD ~ Digital Assets Kit

The Digital Assets Kit (DAK) for The Return of the King Theatrical Edition contains 2 sections:

  • Key Art and Packaging.
  • Photography/Trailer (19 photos). The trailer is viewable (very small), but it is not downloadable.

Interface: Details to be added.

DAK (Theatrical Version) Rarity and Value: As best I can recall, I have seen this theatrical release Digital Asset Kit (DAK) about as frequently as the DAK for the ROTK Special Extended Edition. Both of them are relatively rare, and I can only remember seeing each of them listed on eBay about once or twice in the past 12 months (mid-2009 through mid-2010).

Given that rarity, the Special Extended Edition DAK should probably be priced higher, as it includes the complete catalog of LOTR DVDs, VHSes, Collector’s Gift Sets, and Trilogy Slipcase Sets, where the Theatrical DAK has only about three-quarters of that amount of information and images.

Special Extended Edition Digital Asset Kit

ROTK Extended Edition DVD ~ Digital Assets Kit

Introduction

Digital Assets Kit (DAK) for The Return of the King Special Extended Edition consists of one disc in a printed cardstock single-pocket sleeve.

There were earlier DAKs for at least The Two Towers (Extended) and The Return of the King (Theatrical edition). But what makes the Special Extended Edition DAK distinctive and valuable is that it includes the complete catalog of any and all formats for the DVD and VHS releases:

  • Theatrical, Special Extended, and Collector’s Gift Set editions for each of the 3 films
  • Trilogy Slipcase editions for sets of 3 Theatrical and Extended DVDs
  • Fullscreen and Widescreen

Detailed List of Contents

Folder: Blue cardstock two-panel sleeve.

Interface: This DAK opens with a slideshow overview of key features of the Special Extended Edition. This leads into 4 sections of resources:

  • Packaging and Key Art
  • Advertising Assets
  • Photography
  • Catalog

A “rollover” feature allows you to view items from locating the mouse over the link without clicking.

Packaging and Key Art.

  1. Special Extended Edition: Key Art, Packaging Images A and B, Title Treatment, Billing Block and Logos.
  2. Collector’s DVD Gift Set: Packaging Images A and B, Title Treatment, Billing Block and Logos; view 360-degree preview of Minas Tirith Gift Set figurine.

Advertising Assets.

  • Gift Card versions/prototypes
  • Merchandiser kiosks
  • Advertising Checklist
  • Sample Advertisements in color and in black and white for both SEE and Collector’s Gift Set
  • 4 TV Insets (Aragorn, Arwen, Frodo and Sam, Gandalf the White)

Photography (13 photos from ROTK film scenes in JPEG format, with caption sheet).

Catalog. For each of the 3 films – FOTR, TTT, or ROTK – you can select features for the following editions:

  • Theatrical Edition: (1) Key Art. 3D Packaging: (2) Widescreen DVD, (3) Fullscreen DVD, and (4) Fullscreen VHS. (4) Title Treatment. (5) Billing Block and Logos.
  • Special Extended Edition: (1) Key Art. 3D Packaging (2) Widescreen DVD, (3) VHS, and (4) Gift Set. (5) Title Treatment. (6) Billing Block and Logos.
  • Trilogy sets in slipsleeve: (1) Theatrical edition widescreen, (2) Theatrical edition fullscreen, and (3) Special Extended Edition.

DAK (Special Extended Edition) Rarity and Value: I’ve been collecting and tracking LOTR film trilogy items since about 2002. In my opinion as a student of LOTR publicity and promotional materials, this particular Special Extended Edition Digital Assets Kit is more difficult to find than even the Fellowship of the Ring digital press kit. Over the past few years, it has occasionally appeared on eBay as a separate item, and sometimes packaged with a matching companion 4-panel cardstock folder (11×34) plus radio announcement sales scripts, fact sheet, and ad slicks. Between those two packaging formats, I still recall only having seen this DAK once or twice in the past year (before mid-2010).

So, by obtaining this particular Digital Assets Kit, you get the key images for all versions except the later Limited Edition and Blu-ray releases, for which I’ve not yet found any kind of press kit, and very little formal promotion or advertising.

Theatrical Release Paper Press Kit

ROTK Theatrical Edition DVD ~ Paper Press Kit

The paper press kit includes five items:

  • Two-pocket folder.
  • Press release (4 pages) for the 2-disc Theatrical version of ROTK, with details on the film trilogy, release dates, box office statistics on ROTK and the trilogy, nominations and awards, and about New Line Home Entertainment.
  • DVD Fact Sheet (3 pages) with details on pricing, content/special feature, and run time.
  • Box Office Records and Awards Honor Roll (5 pages) with statistics on viewing and box office earnings, nominations for awards received from 14 different film organizations.
  • The Return of the King Introduces New Creatures, Characters and Civilizations to The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (3 pages), with details on Shelob, the Haradrim and Mûmakil (Oliphaunts), Gondor and Minas Tirith, Pelennor Fields, The Paths of the Dead, Stairs of Cirith Ungol, and The Grey Havens.

Several of the paper press kits that I have seen on eBay have had the Digital Assets Kit CD-ROM included. However, sometimes the Digital Assets Kit has also been available separately. So, I am unsure whether all paper press kits include the CD-ROM.

This press kit shows the exceptional quality that we typically find in Lord of the Rings promotional items. For instance, the folder is produced with full four-color printing and the cover design includes the White Tree of Gondor embossed into the paper. Also, all four press releases in the packet are on cream letterhead paper with a very light tan faux watermark on the right-hand side (so light that it doesn’t appear in my scans). The blue artwork in the upper left-hand corner on cover sheets is actually metallic foil, and the LOTR wordmark is printed in golden yellow and tan inks.

Special Extended Edition Paper Press Kit

Images and details forthcoming.

Official Promotional Kit

ROTK Promo Pin Set

For each film in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, the official DVD/VHS merchandising release kit was shipped to merchandising outlets and stores where LOTR video products would be sold. These kits – also known as Point of Purchase (or P.O.P.) kits – were shipped in custom-size cardboard boxes, and included a set of 12 pins/badges plus a combination of other promotional items for the store.

The P.O.P. kit for The Return of the King included:

  • 12 rectangular character pins.
  • 1 chevron/shield-shaped vinyl window cling of the composite character – featuring Aragorn.
  • 2 regular-size (27″ x 40″) composite character posters.

12 ROTK Promotional Pins

  1. Aragorn
  2. Arwen
  3. Éowyn
  4. Faramir
  5. Frodo
  6. Gandalf (the Grey)
  7. Gimli
  8. Gollum
  9. Legolas
  10. Merry and Pippin
  11. Sam
  12. What is the fate of the One Ring?

Other Items

Print Ads

Images and details forthcoming.

Posters

Images and details forthcoming.

Pins

Images and details forthcoming.

Other Items

Images and details forthcoming.

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