The company responsible for one of the stupidest film marketing decisions of all time has offered an apology.
BIM Distribuzione worked with marketing company Fanatical About Cinema to create the Italian posters for Brad Pitt Saves All The Black People 12 Years A Slave. The company has now issued a statement apologizing for this dumb shit:
“We apologize for creating and releasing unauthorized posters for ’12 Years a Slave’ in Italy featuring Brad Pitt and Michael Fassbender in a manner inconsistent with approved advertising materials,” BIM Distribuzione said in a statement issued Thursday. “All inappropriate materials have now been withdrawn. We are very proud of the film and regret any distraction this incident may have caused.”
Tumblr user Carefree Black Girl was the first one to spot the poster, which features Pitt’s angelic, Jesus-like image emblazoned mutant Stay Puft marshmallow man size on a sky with tiny, blurry Chiwetel Ejiofor below him.
The controversy behind the botched poster/marketing job may be behind why one of the film’s stars, Kenyan actress Lupita Nyong’o (a Golden Globe nominee for her role in the movie) backed out of the Italian premiere at the Capri Hollywood film festival. No official reason was given by the actress or her people, however.
12 Years A Slave chronicles the life of Solomon Northup, a free black man who was kidnapped and sold into slavery.
Image via Carefree Black Girl
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