SXSW + Tinder + Hot Model + AI = Marketing

South by Southwest is raging in Austin, and there is always some kind of funky, off-the-beaten-path, crazy story to be found. This one taps a nerve for almost all of us, and certainly for like half the guys at SXSW this week.

There are reports of a beautiful model on Tinder named Ava that has broken more than a few hearts. Here’s the scoop: There is a movie called Ex Machina that is coming out, and features a very beautiful robot named Ava (actually Swedish model Alicia Vikander in real life). So as a pre-launch movie teaser, they’ve gotten creative with their market and use of technology.

According to a report in Adweek by Tim Nudd, his friend found Ava on Tinder and of course swiped right. Pleasantly surprised when she matched him, they went on to have the following chat on the service:

So, with a seemingly great interaction with a fellow (and cute) SX’er, he followed is, umm, heart and went to check out Ava’s Instagram account (@meetava) just as she asked. Once there, his mind was slowly blown (ahem) and heart sunk – he found only a few video posts about the upcoming movie release for Ex Machina. The marketing team had done a bang-up job of the classic bait and switch.

While the movie looks pretty cool, one could imagine it may not be the best emotional response to associate with your new movie. Time will tell how many fell for this brilliant bit of marketing, and weather or not these folks will be lining up to see the film when it comes out, or avoiding it like a bad ex-girlfriend. But either way, they certainly got their name out there and created a nice viral buzz at an event that is possibly the most difficult and over-buzzed place on earth.

The film Ex Machina will be released April 10th.