14 DAY TRIAL // In what various media outlets have dubbed one of the biggest PR disasters of this year, stemming from a clear misunderstanding of how online marketing works, Woody Harrelson tried – and failed – to promote his latest film, “Rampart,” on Reddit.
To explain how all this started: the Reddit forum holds AMA sessions, short for Ask Me Anything, which has celebrities go online and answer virtually any questions users (redditors) have.
There is also the option of doing an AMAA session, Ask Me Almost Anything, but Harrelson didn't opt for it.
This only makes the way he behaved (assuming it was him and not some PR person trying to fool the commenters) all the more weird.
“Hi Reddit, it’s Woody here. I’m in New York today doing interviews for my new film RAMPART, which opens in theaters on February 10th. I’ll be checking in from 3-4EST today and will get to as many of your questions as I can, so start asking now! Be back soon,” the actor wrote.
He came back for the AMA session as promised but, contrary to expectations, things only went from bad to worse.
It all went south when one user asked him to confirm a one night stand of some years ago, which was when he made it clear he planned to stick to the topic at hand, that of talking only about the movie.
Soon afterwards, he was refusing to answer questions about previous roles he'd played, about other movies he'd done, or even to speak in more general terms about acting.
Commenters picked up on this and they lashed out accordingly.
“Next time, don't have your publicist sit beside you feeding you [expletive]. Your fans would have thoroughly enjoyed an hour or 2 out of your day to honestly answer questions. You do realize a missed opportunity here, where the buzz you generated would have caused people to go see Rampart, even if you didn't say a word about Rampart, right?” one asked.
Others weren't even convinced that was Harrelson at the other end, saying they hoped the PR guy or woman with whom they had been conversing would be fired soon.
“Dear Sir, this marketing stunt is a piece of [expletive], i hope this movie bombs. AMA is not a free ad for your movie, it means ASK ME ANYTHING,” added another upset redditor.
“THIS IS THE WORST AMA OF ALL TIME. Please for the love of god someone tell me this is his agent, or some god damn troll. This is AMA not OATAR (ONLY ASK THINGS ABOUT RAMPART). I have no interest in seeing this movie now,” says another.
After the genuine media debacle with Reddit's AMA, Harrelson seems to have gone into hiding of sorts, refusing to pick up any calls from the press.