It’s not every day that you get a pair of Jessica Alba’s underwear mailed to your office. However, this is exactly what Lion’s Gate did when it wanted to promote the release of Good Luck Chuck to the Hollywood press.

Chris Thilk was the recipient of the pair of pink panties with a penguin on them (allegedly Alba, an accident-prone penguin handler, wore something similar in the film). Thilk, who authors the blog Movie Marketing Madness, says receiving unusual logoed merchandise promoting a film is not uncommon “as most of the promotional swag goes to the journalists who write about it.”

If someone is wearing a T-shirt from a movie made a year ago, you might generate a cult following because the item is scarce.

For the movie Crank he received adrenaline-themed items like a highlighter in the shape of a hypodermic needle and energy bars and drinks packaged in a paint can.

For the upcoming film, I Am Legend, starring Will Smith, Thilk has heard talk of a mailer with a replica of a broken vial “or something else that plays into the ‘It’s been released!’ idea.” (In the movie, Smith plays the only survivor of a biological attack in New York who has to fight off zombies.) At presstime, Warner Brothers executives were also considering sending journalists a watch like the one Smith sports in the movie as a promotional item.

Most of the major movie houses look to traditional media to promote the launch of a new film. In 2006, Hollywood spent $4.8 billion to promote new releases, per Nielsen Monitor-Plus. For the first eight months of this year, it spent $2.4 billion. Still, more and more studios are looking to promotional products as an important addition to the mix.

Typically, the major blockbusters rely on partners to promote the film using logoed or licensed merchandise. “Different releases lend themselves to promotional tie-in opportunities,” said Ben Mulcahy, entertainment partner for Sheppard Mullin, which specializes in advertising and promotions related to films. “A movie like Transformers attracted most of the top categories like consumer packaged goods, automotive, and quick-service restaurants.While a film like Gone Baby Gone, which is about a kidnapping, isn’t likely to garner any partners.”

For marketers, offering logoed merchandise linking to a high-profile film also helps give a brand legs.

That’s not to say less obvious films don’t rely on promotional tie-ins, he says. The global warming documentary An Arctic Tale, for example, scored Starbucks as a partner. Point-of-sale materials promoted it in-store and the DVD will be available for sale at its locations.

The luxury Fairmont Hotels & Resorts chain regularly promotes more serious films at its Canadian properties like The Queen and Miss Potter. For The Queen “we lined up a multitude of initiatives that included contest prizing, postcard inserts in Fairmont’s in-room magazine and special offers to members of Fairmont’s guest loyalty program to name a few,” said Mike Taylor, a rep for the chain.

The Fairmont, which is known for its tea service, offered free stays at some properties along with a themed tea service that included a special blend of tea they could take home with them.

Taylor says such promotions are the perfect symbiotic relationship. “They have the benefit of tapping into a large, affluent demographic and from our perspective this gives us another external channel to promote the brand and services we are offering.”

Studios are looking for “anything that will reach an audience that isn’t going to be reached by mass market advertising like TV, print or radio,” says Mulcahy. “Anything that will target that audience is a positive because its accretive impressions versus duplication.”

For example, when Sony Pictures Animation launched Surf’s Up, it pulled in about a dozen marketers to help promote the children’s films. This included reaching families visiting Sea World or shopping at Old Navy or Safeway. Old Navy offered licensed T-shirts and flip-flops, while Safeway promoted the film via its bags. Airheads candy, Crunch ’n Munch, Act II popcorn, McDonald’s and many other brands also were on board.

More recently, McDonald’s partnered with DreamWorks Animation to tout Bee Movie. From Oct. 26 to Nov. 15, kids received six Happy Meal toys based on the characters in the movie including one (Barry B. Benson), which featured the voice of Jerry Seinfeld. The film’s logo also appeared on its Apple Dippers and low-fat milk jugs.

Playing off of Barry B. Benson’s environmentally-friendly adventures, restaurant tray liners featured messages from the character as well as Conservation International. The liners, as well as a pledge card, includes tips like “stop, kneel down, look closer and find three living things smaller than your thumb.”

In England, children were given logoed bags of seeds to plant flowers, and in Canada they received honey-flavored straws. “We know kids around the world have the environment on their minds and are looking for ways to make a difference,” says McDonald’s global CMO Mary Dillon.

Dillon notes that McDonald’s plans “two or three global events a year” and “we always try to provide some freshness and step it up with innovation that is fresh and meaningful. The Happy Meal is all about a great treat, a fun toy and a fun experience.”

Peter Silgmann, CEO of Conservation International says the “only way to get our arms around environmental issues is through partnerships like this – in terms of going out and reaching 30 million families every day.”

Such merchandise also helps prolong the movie’s lifespan in the minds of consumers, says Bender/Helper Impact’s Brian Reinert, who reps 20th Century Fox Licensing & Merchandising as well as Scholastic Media.

The two have joined forces to promote this month’s release of The Golden Compass. In addition to books, there are action figures, board games and Sega video games. “They want this to be the next Lord of the Rings,” he says. “The main goal is to get audiences excited to play the video game and toys in anticipation of the next film’s release.”

For marketers, offering logoed merchandise linking to a high-profile film also helps give a brand legs and, perhaps, a great deal of attention on eBay. Mulcahy says, promotional products “play a meaningful role. If everyone in Times Square is wearing a T-shirt a week before the film, it would benefit the film. If they’re wearing it a year later, it doesn’t do much for the film, but it might benefit the brand when people ask ‘where did you get that?’ You could generate a cult following because it’s scarce.”

Thilk said there is demand for branded merchandise even for unexpected films. He has gotten a number of people hitting his site in search of Dan in Real Life T-shirts. “There’s a faction of people interested in stuff like this,” he says. “Since it’s not a geek film, you won’t see the shirts in comic shops and it’s not quirky enough to end up in Target. Studios should be capitalizing on the excitement of their films.”

His idea: To borrow the music industry’s model to sell logoed merchandise like they do at rock shows or to mimic museums “who make you leave through the gift shop while you’re all pumped up about Monet.”

Who knows, after leaving a romantic comedy, you might just want to buy some pink undergarments with a penguin on it…or maybe not. ●

Click here for December's top movie releases.