We noticed the unintentional joke when The New York Times arrived today at headquarters. Lachlan Markay at the Washington Free Beacon noticed, too. The Times came wrapped in a suggestive ad with the large boast in all capitals: “HER REIGN BEGINS.”
Except it never will. The boast was a large Netflix ad for the series The Crown. Owen Thomas at SFGate.com had the scoop:
Netflix is increasingly playing the Hollywood game, promoting its original series with splashy advertisements. On Wednesday, it wrapped the New York Times with a four-page promotion for “The Crown,” its new historical drama about Queen Elizabeth II.
Just one problem: It seems like the Los Gatos video-streaming company was counting on the election going the other way.
“Her reign begins,” the ad proclaims on the cover, with an elegant photo of Claire Foy as Queen Elizabeth.
Inside, it continues [in capital letters, mind you]: “We have a new leader: a woman. Let us give her a celebration that is befitting of the wind of change she represents: modern and forward-looking.”
“Revolution must come from within,” it concludes.
Dept. of bad timing,” wrote Marketwatch contributor Caroline Baum on Twitter.
A spokeswoman for for Netflix did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday morning. A spokeswoman for MEC Global, Netflix’s primary advertising agency, said it was not responsible for the ad in question.
