Brands awaken to celebrate Star Wars’ #ForceFriday

By Digiday • September 4, 2015 •

Since we’re just a short 15 Fridays away from it being released, the “unprecedented” global marketing campaign for Star Wars: The Force Awakens began today.

Disney is touting today as #ForceFriday with fans flocking to stores to get their hands on Star Wars merchandise. Similar to the craze that is Black Friday, Toys ‘R Us, Walmart, Disney Stores opened their doors at 12:01 a.m., enticing customers with the Internet-popular hamster-sized BB-8 droid and other toys.

Jimmy Kimmel, who hosts a late-night show on Disney-owned ABC, debuted Star War toys on his show last night. Wonder how he got that exclusive?

But much of the excitement could be felt online, too. On YouTube, the Star Wars channel is streaming an 18-hour “global unboxing” event hosted by YouTube personalities, and Twitter rolled out emojis that appear when the hashtag #ForceFriday is used.

Meanwhile on Snapchat, Target released a sponsored filter with Star Wars characters and its logo:

Check your newest @Snapchat geofilters Target people! pic.twitter.com/veaNrxkEJs

— Jennifer Yaksich (@J_Yaksich) September 2, 2015

As for that hashtag, it’s been tweeted 68,000 times in the past 24 hours, according to social measuring service Topsy. Brands, which are the reason this so-called “holiday” was created, didn’t miss out on the opportunity to use the hashtag.

From Hallmark cards to American Tourister luggage, Disney seemed to have linked up with every company on this planet, ensuring that the craze will be unavoidable for the next several months.

Here’s how brands, both official sponsors and ones looking to just jump in, “celebrated” on Twitter:

R U Dark Side or Light? Rey & Kylo Ren join our #ittybittys lineup in Nov. https://t.co/2QKaTEFAK3 #ForceFriday pic.twitter.com/UgWFjmYm7h — Hallmark Cards (@Hallmark) September 4, 2015

The Force is strong with these three. Shop our #StarWars collection @amazon: https://t.co/2174N7MjaO #ForceFriday pic.twitter.com/CqhdSMh5If

— American Tourister (@AmTourister) September 4, 2015

Ready to make our debut on @foxandfriends! #HotWheelsForceFriday #ForceFriday #stormtrooper pic.twitter.com/l9D5zrcK3D — Hot Wheels (@Hot_Wheels) September 4, 2015

Wake up the #force! Get to #Spencers NOW! #ForceFriday #TFA pic.twitter.com/D13c7AVWfd

— Spencer’s (@Spencers) September 4, 2015

The awesome new LEGO sets from #StarWars: #TheForceAwakens are finally here! #ForceFriday https://t.co/7qpVVnEMba pic.twitter.com/GIfK1QdlxH — LEGO (@LEGO_Group) September 4, 2015

STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS BATTLE ACTION MILLENNIUM FALCON #ForceFriday pic.twitter.com/UBDy2GMP7p

— Hasbro (@HasbroNews) September 4, 2015

May the Free Cake Friday be with you. RT and follow for your chance to win! #freecakefriday #forcefriday pic.twitter.com/rmuICXVDZk — Little Debbie (@LittleDebbie) September 4, 2015

Duck Tape: The (other) strongest Force in the universe. #ForceFriday pic.twitter.com/aVxeKA3tf8

— Duck Brand (@theduckbrand) September 4, 2015

Dance like no wookie is watching. It’s #ForceFriday at #PartyCity! https://t.co/oTx9aorW8R https://t.co/DYCqxLtMRQ — Party City (@PartyCity) September 4, 2015

Happy @StarWars #ForceFriday! Shop our #StarWars UT collection: https://t.co/hCtrsvmDFs pic.twitter.com/onttcXVIhI

— UNIQLO (@UniqloUSA) September 4, 2015

Discover our #StarWars Collection & may the Force be w/ you! #ItsYourDestiny #ForceFriday https://t.co/CbBgnAU1ZI https://t.co/S112SYOaNq — Kay Jewelers (@KayJewelers) September 4, 2015

Image courtesy of Target.