A bar of soap? That we're presumably not supposed to drop? You serious, Fox? For a show that's not coming back anyway? And weirdly, a similar thing just happened - is prison rape is suddenly a great marketing tool?
Also, what PR genius sent the prison rape soap to The Advocate?
The bar of soap sent to The Advocate just features the run dates of the series, and the accompanying press release reads, "We hope the enclosed bar of PRISON BREAK soap helps lather up excitement for the two-hour series finale airing Friday, May 15."
Predictably, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation was none too pleased:
It’s unfortunate that Fox thinks a veiled reference to prison rape is an appropriate part of their marketing campaign for this show," Rashad Robinson, senior director of media programs for the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, said in an exclusive statement to The Advocate.
And it's not the first time Fox has done this:
The marketing team at Fox used this gimmick once before while promoting the third season's premiere in New Zealand in 2008. Those bars of soap featured the imprint of a key -- an attempt to show how keys are sometimes duplicated in prison. The soap was then strategically placed in bars and clubs.
Nice! Well, if it went over in New Zealand...
Although it is interesting that over 90% of the comments responding to the post about this on The Advocate's website thought GLAAD was being way too sensitive, and that the bar of soap was kind of funny.
What do you think? Offensive, funny, or both?
PREVIOUSLY:
Which Show Is Being Turned Into A Video Game? And Using Prison Rape To Promote That Video Game?
"Prison Break": Is Fox Finally Ready To Consider It "Prison Broken"?
Death Sentence For "Prison Break"