In the very near future people may well remember 2012 as the year 20th Century Fox and Ridley Scott set new heights in movie marketing. Teasers, stunning trailers, virals, a TED talk, intricate ship specs, images, previews and appearances at conventions, dedicated websites and secret passwords – Prometheus has it all.
The marketing of this sci-fi epic could even be said to parallel expectations about the actual film. No small feat for a story arc that aims for the answer to the origin of human life itself. Appearing first on Yahoo and Mashable, another Prometheus viral featuring Michael Fassbender as ship’s robot – David – was released today. Taking us further into the psyche of an eighth generation A.I, the only verdict possible after watching it is this: Michael Fassbender is one hell of an actor.
From the Weyland Industries logo branded on his fingers, to his ability to emulate emotions without actually feeling them, and his disturbing admission that he can do things his human counterparts might find “unethical” – David is as creepy as hell. One weird moment in the viral (which is saying something) is David’s astonishing similarity to a beauty pageant contestant. Asked what made him sad, David’s answer – given in an unnervingly, calm voice – “war, poverty, cruelty, unnecessary violence,” is for some reason, truly icky.
Without a doubt the viral is brilliant. Mainly because it all seems so very, very realistic. At our current rate of technological expansion, who knows how many years away David is – which probably accounts for why so many real life tech heads are fascinated by the ideas behind Prometheus’s hardware. It will probably come as no surprise that Fox is even putting a full-page ad for David in The Wall Street Journal .
This, plus the ProjectPrometheus website, Facebook, Verizon FioOS, Twitter and Youtube account, will ensure almost no-one with a pulse is unaware Prometheus is coming. And with 53 days still to go between now and the June 8 release of Prometheus , it’s a dead cert more marketing treats will be coming our way.
The film better kick ass.
