The first “Sharknado” last summer became a social media phenomenon almost overnight. This time around, Syfy was prepared for the intense reaction online. But even still, Wednesday’s debut of “Sharknado 2: The Second One” surpassed its predecessor by far, setting a ratings record for Syfy with 3.9 million viewers and at one point even taking eight of the top 10 hashtags on Twitter, according to TheWrap.

According to Nielsen, the sequel generated 67.2 million Twitter TV impressions, with 188,000 tweets by unique authors. And that’s just for the special’s first airing.

Many viewers’ tweets fell along the lines of “I can’t look away” or “Why am I still watching this?” But they kept watching. And brands fell in line too, whether they were official sponsors or not.

TV brands were also ready for the event – the Syfy premiere was a global event, so channels like France’s Canalsat celebrated online with #clicktosea, a Twitter campaign that expanded images to see what lurked in the background of popular photos.

TV Land had an ongoing tweet series with its star Betty White, who can seamlessly blend into any movie campaign:

The sequel was also full of cameos, and a solid majority of the actors also live-tweeted the movie event. Its stars started the night off on a meta note:

That’s right, Tara Reid got a saw-hand. Spoiler alert!

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