A quirk of the calendar is a godsend – or perhaps just the opposite – to movies and albums hoping to cash in on a devilish day.
June 6, 2006 – or 6-6-6 – is being used as a marketing ploy for, among others, “The Omen 666,” a remake of the son-of-
Lucifer horror film. Fox is giving the movie an unusual Tuesday release to capitalize on the demonic date.
But Fox is not the only one gleefully taking advantage of 6-6-6, the calendar’s closest approximation to the “666” mentioned in the Bible’s Book of Revelation as “the number of the beast.”
According to the MySpace page of death metal band Deicide – “Satan’s favorite band” (presumably hailing from the less sunny side of Florida) – their latest album “The Stench of Redemption” is “currently scheduled for a release for the most unholy of days, 6.6.06.”
Says Earache U.S. label president Al Dawson, “An opportunity like this only comes around once every hundred years. The stars are aligned, and it’s the perfect time for us to release the album.”
But when it comes to using the devil’s day as a marketing ploy, “it can go either way, it can be humorous or really dark,” says advertising guru Frank Ginsberg of Avrett Free Ginsberg.
“There has to be a natural fit. It can’t be forced – it has to look and feel good, otherwise it doesn’t make any sense to use it.”
Here are six things getting a June 6 release:
* “The Omen 666”: A remake of the 1976 film about a couple who realize their son is the Antichrist.
Taglines: “You have been warned” and “The signs are all around you”
* Deicide’s “Stench of Redemption”: “Satan’s favorite band” releases its new album
Tagline: “The blasphemy will return in 2006!”
* Ann Coulter’s “Godless: The Church of Liberalism”: The right-wing pundit’s controversial book attacking liberalism and likening it to a religion.
Tagline: Release date is her “little tribute to liberals, to have it come out on 6-6-6.”
* “The Beast”: Directed by Brian Flemming, the “fictional thriller” aims to prove Jesus Christ never existed.
Taglines: “What if you learned the secret that could end it all?” or “Wear the mark, for only $6.66 plus shipping.” (It’s a rubber stamp.)
* Tim F. LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkin’s “The Rapture”: The last installment in the “Before They Were Left Behind” series about the Revelation.
Tagline: “The darkest days may lie ahead for those who have been left behind.”
* Slayer’s “Unholy Alliance Tour”: The thrash- metal band kicks off its U.S. tour in San Diego.
Tagline: “Preaching to the perverted.”