Paramount gave away Jack Reacher's car

Posted Thursday, May 9, 2013 at 4:51 PM Central
Last updated Thursday, May 9, 2013 at 4:59 PM Central

by John Couture

Jack Reacher is a character that embodies the term "badass" in the many novels by Lee Child, but there might just be someone who comes close in real life. No, I'm not talking about diminutive actor Tom Cruise who plays the former military investigator in the film, I'm talking about the guy who won Reacher's car.

The car in question is an orange 1971 Chevelle SS and Paramount turned to a tried and true method to help promote Jack Reacher's release on DVD and Blu-ray. The "Reach for Reacher" event started with 18 contestants and the goal was simple, be the last person standing with their hand on the car. You do that and you drive home with the Chevelle.

Naturally, there's nothing really unique about these type of contests, but it's the first time that I've seen a major studio use one to promote awareness of a film's home entertainment release. They also filmed the entire process and created a nice little highlight video below.

I liked the inclusion of physical and mental challenges, but I had to wonder if there were bathroom and/or food breaks. It seems to me that 34 hours is a long time between potty breaks.

If you're scratching your head about this sort of contest, might I recommend the film Hands on a Hardbody. It might be a bit of a hard find, but it's worth the effort.