Marvel’s Secret Invasion isn’t far off now, so marketing is well underway to get fans hyped for the mini-series. Marketing is always a creative effort; with images, and clips spread across every social media platform possible. This time though, Secret Invasion is utilizing social media, Twitter in particular, in a very interesting way.
Character portraits have been posted on the platform showcasing each character but sliced through, with an underlying image painting another picture entirely. We know that Secret Invasion is based on the idea that Skrulls, the shapeshifting beings, have secretly been taking up positions of power on Earth to undermine the powers that be and presumably create chaos. With their abilities, it means that Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) has no idea who he can trust and that is exactly what the marketing team has leaned on.
The images posted on Twitter were accompanied by the platform’s misinformation notice, one that is used when content is deemed to be spreading misinformation or appears misleading. It works very well in this case, only further driving home the point that no one is who they seem in this mini-series.
It has never been more poignant a point in the real world than right now, with AI allowing people to Deep Fake themselves or others, with AI-generated photos of powerful people across the world in compromising or odd situations being spread across the internet. A clear example was an image created by AI to make it look as if Donald Trump had been formerly arrested and was being dragged away by police.
The BBC wrote an article on how to spot these fake images, though we can imagine that in the future it will soon become harder and harder to tell. It is a clever move on behalf of Marvel Studios to utilize this “safety feature” on Twitter and leaves us even more excited for the upcoming shapeshifting adventure.
Nick Fury will be front and center in Secret Invasion which comes to Disney Plus on June 21.