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What if a movie’s marketing campaign angered one of the world’s most respected space agencies? Nope, we’re not making this up. This blockbuster disaster movie captured global attention with a viral marketing campaign that went beyond typical promotional tactics. The campaign introduced a fictional organisation that claimed the world was facing an imminent apocalypse. It urged people to “register” for survival by using carefully crafted messages and convincing visuals. Many viewers took the campaign seriously and unfortunately, this misinformation sparked confusion and fear far beyond the film’s fanbase.

Thousands of worried individuals reached out to NASA and sought answers and reassurance. The flood of messages quickly overwhelmed the agency, with many senders expressing genuine distress. Some were children and seemed scared by what they had seen and unable to separate the film’s fiction from real-world facts. NASA found itself in a position where it had to repeatedly clarify the falsehoods and address public fears. The agency publicly condemned the marketing methods, saying they created unnecessary panic and emotional harm.

Which movie was this?

The movie behind this controversy was Roland Emmerich’s 2009 sci-fi disaster film “2012.” While the movie itself was a commercial success and drew large audiences, its marketing campaign took a risky approach that backfired. Instead of straightforward advertising, Columbia Pictures used a viral campaign with a fake group called the Institute for Human Continuity. The campaign presented fabricated data suggesting a 94 per cent chance of global destruction in 2012. It invited users to participate in a lottery to survive, adding an unsettling layer of realism to the fiction.

This approach caused many people to believe the claims were true. The campaign’s style mimicked official scientific or government warnings which contributed to its effectiveness but also to the alarm it caused. NASA had to work hard to counteract the misinformation and restore public trust. The situation highlighted the power of viral marketing but also its potential to cause harm when mixed with sensationalism.

The 2012 campaign is now cited as a lesson in ethical marketing. It showed that blending fiction with apparent facts can mislead a large audience and generate real-world consequences. Thankfully, nothing happened in 2012! Even then, as entertainment companies increasingly turn to viral and promotions that guarantee immersion, the need for responsibility becomes critical.

NASA’s anger stemmed from the harmful impact that the movie’s viral marketing had on the public. The campaign not only spread false fears but also burdened a respected scientific institution with the task of calming and educating frightened viewers. It’s a good thing that we can’t predict the end of the world, because that would mean unlocking mystical secrets of the universe that we simply don’t understand yet. For now, climate change is one of the biggest threats to humanity on Earth.