I have to admit, the first couple of times that I heard about marketing folks using automated phone message systems to promote their upcoming movies online, I thought it was brilliant. Samuel L. Jackson did one for Snakes on a Plane, and Peter Cullen recorded one as Optimus Prime for Transformers. These were just fun little viral gimmicks that you couldn’t resist trying out and passing on. Now it appears that they’re using the same trick to hype up the 300 spoof Meet The Spartans, however, and I can’t help but think it screams out “desperate”.

In this case, they’re trying to use the sex appeal of Carmen Electra to sell the flick (I guess that’s about the only thing it’s got going for it at this point). You can head over to CarmenHasACrushOnYou.com and send your friend a personalized message from Carmen talking about how much she is like totally crushin’ on you. Not only that, but you’ll also get a special video from Carmen that’s just for you and you alone! How can you resist? I’m sure you’ll return the favour by going to see her new movie when it hits theatres this weekend. Right?

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