A Twitter user has shared a photo and video of an ad for the upcoming Disney film Elemental, and you could argue that the advert is very on-brand, but we (and others) would say it’s definitely not safe.
It shows the film’s two main characters, Ember and Wade, alongside a fire extinguisher on the wall at a mall in the U.S., with Ember reacting to the fire extinguisher as you might expect of her character. It could be a cute bit of marketing if it weren’t for the fact that the fire extinguisher isn’t real.
In a video, viewers can see that the extinguisher looks fairly 3D and photorealistic, as if it is jutting out from the wall and could be used in an emergency—especially an emergency where you might be in a panic, with smoke obscuring your view. Sam Winkler, who tweeted about the wall decals, wrote, “Burning to death at the mall because I accidentally ran for the photorealistic Pixar fire extinguisher sticker.”
Though this wouldn’t be the first time that Disney had gotten themselves into a mess, no one is quite sure if the advert is a prank, or if it’s actual official marketing for the movie that we can expect to see in malls across the U.S.—at least until it is, hopefully, quickly removed for obvious safety reasons.
Elemental itself centers around the elements: fire, water, land, and air, who all co-exist. Though not much else is known about the plot, we think it’s fair to assume that chaos will ensue. The film is due for release in June in the U.S., and a trailer dropped late last year.
Many people replied to the tweet saying that they’re pretty sure that posting a fake fire extinguisher like this is illegal.
One person joked, “‘Great marketing’ i whisper to myself as the inferno engulfs me.”
Another said, “DISNEY WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU.”
Someone else asked the real question, “Why didn’t they just put the stickers of the characters on either side of a REAL fire extinguisher? It would have been funnier and less dangerous.”
We just have to hope this is just a one-off that’s not officially sanctioned marketing, and if it is, that Disney realizes what a terrible idea this is before some of these tweets become reality.
(featured image: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
