In what is believed to be the UK's first direct marketing
campaign of its kind, Twentieth Century Fox has, according to The
Guardian and the BBC, sent recorded messages to 27,000 consumers to
promote the release.
Automated calls went to mobile and land lines with a clip of the
film in which, according to the BBC, a breathless Tom Cruise asks,
"Where is my minority report?," followed by a voiceover urging them
not to miss out on the film.
The film studio, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch's News
Corporation, points out that, contrary to what is reported in the
Guardian and the BBC, the marketing was not unsolicited: all
recipients of the messages disclosed their phone numbers to the
company in previous promotions and agreed to receive further
information about Fox productions.
Fox also claims that the voiceover at the end of the message
makes it clear that the message is an advertisement.
The UK's Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said that it was
receiving consumer complaints about the ad by Tuesday morning,
finding Tom Cruise's tone of voice in the film clip "inappropriate
and offensive" and suggesting that the ad could be mistaken for a
nuisance call, according to The Guardian.
