20th Century Fox is taking a more unique approach when it comes to marketing their new film, A Cure For Wellness. They’re using fake news to promote the new psychological thriller.
A handful of websites posted articles with made-up stories, including Lady Gaga paying tribute to Muslims during her Super Bowl halftime show and Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin secretly meeting at a Swiss health spa. The articles referenced the movie, using names and places associated with the film.
A Cure for Wellness, directed by Gore Verbinski, follows a young executive (Dane DeHaan) who is sent to an idyllic but mysterious “wellness center” in the Swiss Alps. Upon arriving, he soon suspects that the miraculous treatments are not what they seem.
The fake news sparked criticism from many on social media which led to Fox and Regency saying this about their decision to market the film this way:
“A Cure for Wellness is a movie about a ‘fake’ cure that makes people sicker. As part of this campaign, a ‘fake’ wellness site healthandwellness.co was created and we partnered with a fake news creator to publish fake news. As our movie’s antagonist says, ‘There is a sickness inside us. And only when we know what ails us, can we hope to find the cure.’”
A Cure For Wellness opens this Friday and with early reviews being on the more negative side, I’m sure this bit of attention can’t hurt.
