Psssshhhhhttttttt! (That’s the sound of a spit-take.)
Peek-a-boo!
I nearly went into coronary arrest after seeing the news item on the right on latimes.com a few minutes ago.
With the economy teetering on the brink of financial ruin, I was certain this latest development meant the four horsemen of the apocalypse were on their way.
Thankfully, this “story” simply turned out to be clever marketing by Paramount Pictures for their film Eagle Eye, which opens today and stars acting sensation Shia LaBeouf.
The movie studio ran a full-screen mockup of the Los Angeles Times’ home page with fake news items pertaining to their film.
You can see the full ad after the jump.
We now return to our regularly scheduled calamity.
Click to biggify.
Related posts:
That seems a little irresponsible to me. You know? Like yelling "fire!" in a crowded theater.
Just me?
This is pure bullshit. We’re in two wars, the economy is tanking, oh and never mind about Russia invading countries while it makes deals with our enemies. And so Paramount and the Times think it’s a good idea to make us panic? I bet they giggled when they thought this one up.
Pure and utter bullshit. I hope the movie tanks.
Wait a second – the background color offsets it, and right at the top it says ADVERTISEMENT. If its confusing a lot of people, clearly it should be a concern, but I’m also concerned people aren’t noticing its an ad right away.
I definitely fell for it, but only for a split second. There’s also a large countdown timer in the corner. It’s a pretty effective ad. I should also add that I had just downed an energy drink, which means I was on edge to begin with.
Most news sites prohibit rich media placements that mimic editorial content. Direct from the Tribune guidelines for rich media banners on LATimes.com:
I’m surprised this was approved to run, especially given the current news atmosphere.