Borat is a comedy/skit movie in which the central character is based on a stereotype of immigrated middle eastern men who clearly does not understand America, except this particular character has been put on camera so we can all see his lack of social awareness and his strange behaviour.
The marketing for this film was unique as it portrayed Borat as a real character. The man who played Borat in the film, Sacha Baron Cohen, appeared in TV interviews as the character. Within these interviews, Cohen would dress and behave exactly like the character he created. This adds 'depth' to a character that can be viewed as just a stereotype of middle eastern men but also creates more content for fans of Borat. Rather than only releasing a movie that people could quickly get bored of, they now saturated the market and filled it with content for fans.
Using this heightens audience immersion, which could be a smart move for a comedy film. Borat as a character can now be used as much more of a foundational piece for the film. Any jokes that don't land may not put much doubt into audiences' minds of how good the film will be, as they already know the character, the brand of humour and whether they enjoy the type of comedy Borat presents.
Marketing has also therefore generated a buzz around the film due to the high profile unorthodox methodology. People will take notice of anyone who is on Letterman but they will especially notice the people who steal the show through presenting new ides, or people who make them laugh, or people who charm them, etc. The mainstream audience often doesn't want to be challenged too much by the media, so bringing possibly new or challenging ways of marketing onto a show with a seal of quality like Letterman gives this new idea a sense of validation. The media can't really tell you what to like or accept but it can certainly inform or frame what you think abut, how you engage with it and possibly how you think about it. Letterman is a reputable, popular show so placing this new form of marketing on a show like this frames the film and marketing style as something that is acceptable.
They managed to gain an appearance on Letterman, which was one of the premiere late night talk shows at the time. This demonstrates another aspect of film marketing; using popular TV shows to promote their product. We see this a lot with sports. For example, an NBA player might take his family on Family Feud after a particularly good season or a title win so that they can capitalise on public interest and their latest success. Also, when the Super Bowl is on, companies pay thousands for their ads to be featured during commercial breaks, which is another example of how marketers use TV shows and events to draw attention to their products.
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