Talk about a promoted tweet.
A full-page ad in Saturday's edition of The New York Times included the image of a single tweet that promoted the film Inside Llewyn Davis ahead of next Sunday's Golden Globe Awards.
"For Your Consideration" full page @nytimes ad ... And it's a Tweet. pic.twitter.com/xezFhyatbI ... Corr: Well, as it turns out an MT...
— Kirstine Stewart (@kirstinestewart) January 4, 2014
This particular photo shows the ad on page C7 of The Times, though Scott speculated that it may also appear in other parts of the newspaper. The ad was placed by CBS Films to promote Inside Llewyn Davis, a comedy-drama film that follows a week in the life of a young folk singer in the early 1960s.
It is interesting to note that the tweet was from New York Times film critic A.O. Scott who seemed baffled to find his positive tweet about Inside Llewyn Davis inside his own publication. In tweets throughout Saturday, Scott called the ad "a bit of a surprise" and said he was "a little freaked out."
we have reached a strange new place in marketing when tweets become full-page print ads.
— a. o. scott (@aoscott) January 4, 2014
Another noteworthy aspect of the ad: The tweet was actually modified, which means the image was not of the exact tweet Scott published back on Dec. 30. The original tweet included the names of two other movies: The Wolf of Wall Street and American Hustle.
You all keep fighting about Wolf of Wall St. and Am Hustle. I'm gonna listen to the Llewyn Davis album again. Fare thee well, my honeys.
— a. o. scott (@aoscott) December 31, 2013
The original tweet from A.O. Scott on December 30.
If Scott did not give permission for his tweet to be included in the ad, CBS Films may have violated Twitter's "Use of Content" guidelines. The guidelines stipulate that "without explicit permission of the original content creator, Twitter content may not be used in advertising." Neither The New York Times nor CBS Films immediately responded to a request for comment.
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Image: Adam Kinney