i hope its a trend ..

there should be a little more excitement and fun going to the theatre .. especially for us folks that have to fork over $$$ for a babysitter and end up dropping about $60 - $70 total to see a movie.

Yeah, see, when I say this is "good" marketing, what I mean is, they probably didn't get one of those research centers to call thousands of people and ask them survey questions like "How would you feel about being handed a rubber snake by an usher as you walked into a theatre to see a movie about snakes? Would you be mildly excited, somewhat excited, very excited or not at all excited?"

No, this is some crazy executive types, probably back from a martini lunch, sitting around a table with a silly idea. "I think we should hand out rubber snakes to everyone who shows up on the first day!" And everyone okays it because if they went to see the movie, THEY would enjoy getting a rubber snake. It's a little more human, a little more real.

It might have been just the premiere, Thursday 10PM. I'll see when I go again tomorrow night if I'm handed another. It basically went like this;

*Nervously waits in line, moving forward, trying to pass as 18+*
Usher: Wanna snake?

They're about 27" long.

Then she comes in again while we're sitting in the theatre and hands out the little comic fold-ups.

:p

The snakes even had SoaP tags on them. Sadly, mine tore off on the way home. :(

Now you'll never be able to sell it on ebay :D