Movie Fans Accuse Sweeney Todd Of False Advertising

A U.K. advertising standards agency has received a number of complaints from angry cinema-goers who did not know new movie SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET is a musical.

The London-based blockbuster – which stars Johnny Depp in the villainous title role – is billed as a grisly horror, while its official trailer minimizes the film’s overwhelming musical content.

And film fans are now calling for Trading Standards and the Advertising Standards Agency to investigate the misleading advertisements.

Richard Brunton, head of online film site Filmstalker, says, “When the U.K.
trailer came out there was nothing in it that pointed it out to be a musical.

“I would say the advertising has been blatantly misleading and I assume that the feeling was that less people would pay to see a musical so it would be better to sell it as a horror movie.”

U.S. movie magazine Entertainment Weekly adds, “The commercials that hide the singing are crafty enough that they might lure a good number of unsuspecting folks. Most people don’t take kindly to being tricked.”

(PAW/WNTMA/LJ)

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