Brands that insert themselves into relevant cultural events is now becoming a norm in marketing. Did you know that May 4th is considered Star Wars Day? These brands did, and they inserted themselves in the conversation by producing content which reflected it. Here's a few that went to the dark side:





Pop Chips went the simple route and used an action figure to do the heavy lifting.



Harrods did some subtle and clever Photoshop to go over to the dark side of marketing.



PayPal traveled to a galaxy far far away and kept their branding intact



...while Red Bull played it safe and stayed closer to the Milky Way.



Oreo went old school (see original Star Wars for blue drink reference)



...and tide skipped Photoshop school altogether

If Motorola didn't do this, they would have gotten decimated by a death star.





USA Today made their audience do the work for them with a contest on Vine that asked people to make Wookie noises in the six second video format.

Marketing, content and cultural relevancy continue to merge together fueled by digital social and mobile channels. Now it's just part of how brands seek to remain relevant to their consumers, customers and in some cases audience. Have you seen any good Star Wars Day content produced by brands?

*Slim Jim and PayPal are Edelman Digital clients