The latest cross-promotional marketing activity for the Wachowskis' Speed Racer, coming out next Friday, is something that can't end without pissing somebody off. The ads feature a race between Speed Racer and the Road Runner to pimp Time Warner's high speed internet service. Somewhere in the afterlife, Chuck Jones and Tatsuo Yoshida are both weeping with shame at this very moment.
Apologizing for raping multiple childhoods with one ill-considered use of intellectual property, Time Warner Cable's Chief Marketing Officer Sam Howe explained that the ad campaign isn't just about making fans realize that Road Runner is much faster than any car out there:
The Road Runner vs Speed Racer spots are created in the same visually stunning style used in the movie and tie together this highly anticipated film with our premier High Speed online service, Road Runner Turbo. We are giving viewers the ability to see exclusive content and a chance to win a new car.
Does exclusive content really count as a plus if it's something that no-one really wants to see anyway? Such content - to be available at rr.com/speedracer and Time Warner Cable's On Demand service - will include unseen Speed Racer footage (bloopers and behind the scenes features that will inevitably appear on the DVD later this year) as well as a 20-minute "mockumentary" about the race between the two speedy icons. Now, if they'd really wanted to make it interesting, they would've brought Barry Allen back into the mix . . .
Time Warner Cable Launches Speed Racer Promos [Comics2Film.com]