The trailer for Zoolander 2 was released 3 days ago and became instantaneously viral. Zoolander was a comedy known for its cheap laughs, but enjoyed nonetheless by the masses. It was a movie that was able to create a cult following. Now that the sequel’s trailer has been released over a decade later, fans of the first movie eagerly await the second. Zoolander 2 seems to take on the same tone as the original with easy laughs where you can sit back and just not think, but like the original it does poke fun at society a little as well. One example of this is the use of selfies throughout the trailer.

The way the news of Zoolander 2 was announced to the world was through Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson walking the Valentino Runway as their characters during Paris Fashion Week. Like Meena mentioned during class on Tuesday, social media tweets, posts and pictures can come off as unauthentic if asked to be sponsored by celebrities. This marketing campaign took everyone by surprise and thus created authentic buzz on social media, which has been largely well received. In addition, the trailer included celebrities like Justin Bieber who have a large media presence.

However, with humor comes the risk of crossing the line. Likewise, the trailer for Zoolander 2 has been controversial. There has been a public petition to boycott this movie. The introduction of a new character, All, has not been well received by the LGBT community. The jokes or punch lines surrounding All are seen as being insensitive, especially since the trailer was released in the middle of Transgender Awareness Week.

Bad timing? I think so, but it would definitely be interesting to see how Paramount Pictures responds to this. As we learnt in class it is always hard to respond to and address criticism or negative publicity. However an entity decide to react to complaints or criticism, it is important to be thoughtful, consistent and provide some sort of explanation or solution to make amends. Right now, there seems to be no response from Paramount Pictures and I wonder if there ever will be. Is no response the best response in this situation? I guess we will have to wait and see.

To conclude, a lot was done well in terms of marketing and creating a buzz through social media, but there also has been controversy that needs to be considered as well. Watch the trailer I have attached above and let me know what you think. Can Zoolander’s signiture look Magnum save him from this as well?