A promotional campaign for Fox's "Sleepy Hollow" television show called "National Headless Day" may seem like a no-brainer given the subject material for the series, but those working on the campaign couldn't have possibly dreamed up a worse scenario. As the "National Headless Day" campaign hit the web, so too did the beheading video of an American journalist. Talk about poor timing.
Fox, of course, drew inspiration for the "National Headless Day" campaign from the Headless Horseman character, who appears in the show and is drawn from Washington Irving's short story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." The campaign was meant as a means to promote the first season of the show, now on DVD and Blu-Ray. Fans of the show could collect and share e-cards celebrating the holiday.
The campaign launched just as the terrorist organization ISIS, also known as the Islamic State, released a video depicting the beheading of American journalist Steven Sotloff onto the web, much the same as the terror organization had done to another American journalist, James Foley, last month.
Marketing firm Think Jam, which was responsible for the campaign, were at least quick to respond upon realizing the news.
"We apologize for the unfortunate timing of our Sleepy Hollow Headless Day announcement," Think Jam said in a statement. "The tragic news of Steven Sotloff's death hit the Web as the email was being sent. Our deepest sympathies are with him and his family, and we don't take the news lightly. Had we have known this information prior, we would have never released the alert and realize it's in poor taste."
Fox also issued a statement on the matter.
"We regret the unfortunate timing of our announcement and our deepest sympathies go out to the families of all involved," the company said.
While it would have been impossible for Think Jam to know of Sotloff's execution beforehand, one would think they might have been aware of the almost identical execution of Foley just a few weeks ago.
Another marketing mix-up had a poster for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles sporting an exploding building with a Sept. 11 release date. That poster was quickly criticized and taken down after backlash. Both ordeals serve as an important reminder for marketers to always be aware of what is going on in the world around them, or risk a massive mix-up like this one.
