When Marketing Goes Wrong: ‘Cinderella’ Promotion Blocks L.A. Traffic

The cast of ‘Cinderella’ receives backlash for stopping traffic in L.A. for a concert.

The cast of the upcoming Amazon film ‘Cinderella’ stopped traffic in Los Angeles recently for a television promotion. Cast members Camila Cabello, James Corden, Billy Porter, and several others were seen performing a flash mob in costume at a busy intersection.

It is likely that this film promotion was for ‘The Late Late Show with James Corden’ in one of his ‘Crosswalk Musical’ segments where performers stop traffic and promote their new content with performance. This has been done on Corden’s show several times, with notable performances from Harry Styles, the cast of ‘Frozen,’ and the cast of ‘The Greatest Showman.’ This time, though, the participants are receiving backlash.

Angry social media users called out the cast saying they should not block traffic to promote films. One Twitter user said, “imagine having a terrible day, and then on your way home you’re forced to watch Camila Cabello and James Corden dance right in front of you.” However, previous crosswalk performances received praise for entertaining passing drivers. For example, one news article in 2019 was titled “Harry Styles’ Traffic-Stopping Crosswalk Concert Deserves a Grammy.”

This ‘Cinderella’ performance is an example of when marketing can go wrong. Campaigns that work for some performers or films are not necessarily generalizable to all. Maybe it’s because the film has yet to be released and many people haven’t seen advertisements for it. Or maybe these cast members are not as widely liked as performers, like Harry Styles. Before creating a traffic-blocking concert, marketing teams should consider the risk they are taking and perhaps conduct some consumer research.