Sony recently unveiled the marketing for their new Angelina Jolie thriller called Salt. In what is a questionable marketing move, the campaign features SALT MUST DIE plastered across the side of buses and billboards. Jolie plays Evelyn Salt, a CIA agent accused of being a Russian spy.
So Sony’s appeal to their obese American audience- an audience that eat as much as 5,000 mg of salt per day, and 1,500 mg of salt in movie popcorn alone, that “salt must die.”
While this might be a great message for Michelle Obama to promote, it doesn’t seem smart to me, unless they’re trying to rally support for salt. I love salt. I love popcorn and french fries and potato chips and bacon! SALT MUST LIVE!
foodmarathon.wordpress.com 
May 18, 2010 at 8:58 pm
Hlarious job of laying waste to what must have been a $50 million marketing campaign from SONY.
May 24, 2010 at 11:16 am
I thought the ad campagign was very thought provoking. Actually when one thinks of the word salt, much comes to mind. It depends on the readers perspective of the word. To a Christian, I am thinking that “we are the salt of the earth. The Bible speaks about salt not losing its flavor. With that said and done, it makes you want to wonder who besides the devil would have an interest in killing salt. This campaign is not only captivating –it’s phenomenal —I was moved to checking on the slogan for clarity!
May 26, 2010 at 6:03 am
It is a clever indirect reference to the protagonist in Ayn Rand’s 1957 novel “Atlas Shrugged”. Avid Rand fans sport stickers on their personal stuff that read “Who Is John Galt?” in exactly the same white font as the bus posters. See here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Galt
May 26, 2010 at 10:01 am
Wow, who new that Sony’s marketing department had the cultural history to reference Ayn Rand… If that’s true than I underestimated them. Sorry Sony.
June 1, 2010 at 9:03 am
i agree salty isnt good for you
June 4, 2010 at 12:39 pm
I thought it was clever.
I was sitting in a pizza shop eating when I saw this bus ride by with “Salt Must Die!” on the side, with whoissalt.com on the bottom. It makes you think. I was wondering: “Who/what is Salt?”. Especially sitting in a pizza shop, I’m thinking it was a health ad or something. lol. It made me quickly get out my iPhone and go to the site (which of course was in flash and does not render for mobile. FAIL. Who’s going to be in front of a computer if they just saw the ad on a bus?).
Anyways – I think that’s what you want to do in marketing. Make people think and then make them do something. Pretty clever, in my opinion.
Ray
June 28, 2010 at 5:48 pm
Was at a friends place when the phrase came on the TV for less than a second. What the hell? Thought I was seeing things and nobody else caught it. It came back on about an hour later and someone else noticed it too and explained to me about the movie and that no one had it out for me personally. Will have to go see now, just ’cause of the name (lol).
May 19, 2011 at 12:52 pm
[…] image above taken from Food Marathon** Thursday, May 19th, 2011 Click here to cancel […]