‘Number 23’ ads more stupid than creepy

First, the movie poster appeared to rip off Stefan Sagmeister’s work for Lou Reed. Now, New Line Cinema’s marketing for The Number 23 is getting even more annoying. They’re sending out e-mails linking to any and all news stories that mention the number 23. It’s meant to be cryptic and creepy and fun. But real life can derail these kinds of marketing gambits—as when one of the cryptic, creepy, fun e-mails links to an AP story with the headline, “Father charged in freezing death of 23-month-old girl.”