• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, August 5, 2011

Nestlé USA's Butterfinger, which has tapped actor Rob Lowe to direct a 25-minute comedy-horror film geared to building social media buzz, is now recruiting fans to contribute to the project.

"Butterfinger the 13th" is a horror-movie parody that continues the brand's humor-based marketing approach by playing off the candy's "Nobody's Gonna Lay a Finger on My Butterfinger" tagline. The premise: The hero finds himself in scary circumstances in which he comes to fear that "someone wants to lay a finger ... in more ways than one," in the wording of the brand's PR. The video also has its own tagline: "You Can't Scream With Your Mouth Full."

While Butterfinger's anticipation-building efforts include not revealing outright where the video will be appearing ("coming to an undisclosed location near you, which you may or may not be able to find on a map"), the YouTube-hosted trailer now being promoted on the brand's Facebook page notes an Oct. 13 release date for the video, with the Butterfinger Facebook URL directly below it.

Also, Lowe -- who is currently starring in the TV comedy series "Parks and Recreation" -- kind of spilled the beans in an "Access Hollywood" interview, when he explained that he got involved in the Butterfinger project in part because he's "always looking to work on platforms other than just television and movies, and this is all on the Internet."

Consumers who "like" Butterfinger on Facebook can get access to the area for entering the user-generated content contest, as well as access to teaser content for the movie. The brand is also promoting the movie and contest through its Twitter presence, and driving its site visitors to the Facebook contest entry area.

Entries can be original video scenes featuring "an urban legend gone wrong, a scary ghost story, or a menace with special powers"; original music for inclusion in the movie's score; or original artwork for the movie's official poster. The top prize includes $2,000 and a screen credit alongside Lowe's, while runners-up will receive $1,000.

Butterfinger said Lowe was chosen to "direct and inspire content" for the project because of his "uniquely clever sense of humor" and "knack for being on the cutting edge of entertainment trends," and noted that he is portraying "a tongue-in-cheek version of himself as director of 'Butterfinger the 13th.'"

The star, who previously directed a movie for Showtime, also told "Access Hollywood" that he views the project as a chance to make something "funny and sort of subversive" and interact with fans ... and confided that "in truth, I'm playing the director, because if they turned me loose, I'd waste everybody's money -- I'd break the company."

In any case, Lowe is out there shooting video and creating publicity for the brand and movie. During last month's Comic-Con 2011 pop culture convention in San Diego (which attracted about 130,000 attendees), he filmed on the city's streets, simultaneously promoting the UGC contest announcement.

Fans were encouraged to participate in the filming, including the shooting of a "crowd source" scene in which Lowe asked onlookers to don scary masks. Butterfinger was video-documenting the shooting, and one of the resulting clips now posted online shows Lowe hamming it up by pretending not to know the difference between crowdsourcing and shooting a "crowd scene."

A double-decker bus branded with the movie's logo -- a "movie set on wheels" -- circled the convention center during the filming. Lowe also signed autographs and did media interviews, including the "Access Hollywood" segment.

Butterfinger also partnered with Sony FEARnet and Crackle on interactive activities at the convention center, and co-sponsored a Summit Entertainment party held at the Hard Rock Hotel. The brand dispensed treats during the party, which featured appearances by cast members from Summit's upcoming "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn-Part 1" movie and other stars.