Despite the best laid plans of Universal Pictures, a major gaffe occurred in Saturday’s Quaker State 400 Nascar race, as a proofreading error led to Carl Edwards running a special paint scheme promoting ex-WWF wrestler Mideon.
“We looked everything over so many times, I don’t know how this happened”, Universal spokesman Dan Whitlock said. “Really, I think that if you’ve stared at these yellow guys (the minions) as much as we have, it starts to mess with your mind. And that’s the feeling we’ve tried to impart with our marketing campaign, but now it’s ruined.”
Mideon was the ring name for Dennis Knight, who currently works as a chef in the Tampa area. He also performed as Phineas I. Godwinn and briefly, horrifyingly, as Naked Mideon.
“I was pretty stunned when I saw our Comcast Business car covered in pictures of a guy with an eye tattoo, but you never know what we’re promoting”, Carl Edwards said post-race. “I mean, I’m always more-focused on the races than the inner-workings of my sponsors. So there’s no way I could know who is the spokesperson for what, and what those spokespeople are doing in their personal time.”
“I’d be lying if I tried to put a positive spin on this”, said Universal Pictures’ Whitlock. “Our total-immersion marketing strategy has failed, and now we have no idea if people know our movie is in theaters. Heck, I talked to a few fans who watched the race on NBC, and they asked me if Minions came with a biscuit and a big ol cookie.”