Is ‘Black Mirror’ taking a promo too far in UK? Cats aren’t even safe. What we know
For six seasons, the Netflix series “Black Mirror” has been delightfully terrifying fans while making them think deeply about their own daily actions, and now the popular streaming service has decided to take suspension of disbelief to an entirely new level:
One that is very real — at least in the United Kingdom.
Thanks to the episode titled “Joan is Awful,” fans are seeing their name and face on billboards scattered across cities in the UK, including London.
The first episode of the much anticipated new season of the thriller features a character named Joan (Annie Murphy) who discovers that there is an adaption of her life on a global streaming platform that mirrors Netflix named StreamBerry and that she’s being played by superstar Salma Hayek. When Joan and Hayek try to figure out how this happened without Joan’s consent, she discovers that she didn’t read the fine print in the terms and agreement part when she signed up for StreamBerry.
Which included signing over the rights to her life.
The takeaway of the episode? Always read the small print.
The good news is — in real life — when Netflix came up with this clever promotion, it is very clear that you are checking a box allowing the streaming service to use your photo for marketing purposes (and it may end up on a billboard) when going to the You Are Awful website.
The official “Black Mirror” Twitter account even got in on the fun when people tweeted out the promo poster with their faces and names and showed off the billboards the poster was gracing.
And nope, not even our four-legged buddies are safe. Check out those ears on Moriarty.
Some people were smitten with the idea.