Chewbacca Viral Video Unmasked as Marketing Stunt
GRAND PRAIRIE, TEXAS — Late last week a video of a woman trying on a Chewbacca electronic mask/toy and hysterically laughing quickly went viral. In the video, the woman claims to have “purchased” the mask from her local Kohl’s on that day, which was coincidentally Chewbacca actor Peter Mayhew’s birthday. As feelgood as the video may be, sources have confirmed it was part of a carefully orchestrated marketing stunt. After the jump, we unmask the Chewbacca “viral” video for what it really is.
It appears the woman in the video was hired by Disney to create viral marketing in order to move unpopular Star Wars merchandise off the shelves. For the record, the Chewbacca mask had been one of the worst selling toys of the new line of masks, figures, and playsets based on The Force Awakens.
While the paid influencer may be laughing all the way to the bank, she certainly earned her keep. Within hours after posting the video, it was picked up by all the main media news outlets and soon after that the Chewbacca mask was listed as “out of stock” on the Kohl’s website. Sell-outs have also occurred at Target, Walmart, and Toys R Us. It seems Disney’s plan worked!
Continuing this trend, Disney plans on creating even more authentic, lo-fi videos with “real fans” using left over “Hulk Hands” from 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron. Paramount also plans on ripping a page from Disney’s playbook using thousands of lingering electronic Bumblebee masks from their under-performing film, Transformers: Age of Extinction.
The truth came out about Ms. Wookiee when she stated “This isn’t my voice, it’s Chewbacca’s.” After being analyzed by our Faux Decipher team out in Oregon, they picked up traces of comedian Melissa McCarthy’s laughter and vocal patterns indicating it wasn’t even that woman’s voice!
Upon even closer inspection, you can see part of the production team hiding in the back of the vehicle. You’d never guess it, but it takes a team of skilled professionals to make a “paid influencer” look like a real life Star Wars fan. Sources have also confirmed the woman, who mentions her children in the video, is actually a single actress based in LA.
You can’t fake the fakers Disney, but keep trying! For the latest on this and all other fake news based on a fake galaxy far far away, keep it locked to FakingStarWars.net. We’re also on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram,Tumblr,Pinterest, and even Miitomo!
