South Park has done some crazy marketing stunts in the past, and true to creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker's ever-chaotic nature, they're back with another quizzical promotion ahead of Season 22. This time around, South Park is actively promoting a hashtag that calls for the cancellation of the Comedy Central hit. Which obviously poses the question, is South Park genuinely trying to get itself cancelled? Check out one such example below.
We're heavily assuming no one involved with South Park's creative team or marketing team actually wants the show cancelled on Comedy Central, and that this promotion is instead probably a way of poking fun at the Internet's outrage culture, and the social media movements people will often jump into in today's society. Viewers wasted no time in trying out "#cancelSouthPark" on Twitter, which is accompanied by an emoji of the South Park town sign with the "no" symbol going through. Always on the lookout, the official South Park page generated responses to fans using the hashtag, reminding them of the date for the Season 22 premiere.
Of course, the mass tweeting of the hashtag got the movement trending, which in turn sparked some irony-soaked outrage amongst South Park fans. Quite a few tweeted out the hashtag in a confused state, wondering what big event they'd missed that suddenly had so many people up in arms and pushing for the cable stalwart's cancellation, and it's not like there was a big reveal ready to justify anything. But apart from a few fans that seemed genuinely disgusted, any legit outrage soon faded, as almost all parties quickly fell in with the joke and continued to tweet the hashtag to keep the fun rolling.
Once more people started to realize what was going on, they began posting specific references to the show along with the hashtag, perhaps to signal that they too were in on the gag.
The South Park marketing stunt isn't just limited to Twitter either. Real-world billboards are appearing in cities across America and promoting "#cancelSouthPark" in an effort to get even more people talking about the "movement." Billboard ads have been used by the show in the past, and they appear to be gaining success yet again, with some fans sharing pictures when they find them.
So why a campaign to cancel South Park as opposed to directly teasing what's to come in Season 22? Beyond the fact that it's a great and unique marketing stunt, there's a possibility the show may not have any usable footage completed for the premiere just yet. There's also a strong possibility that the show is going to tackle more on the subject of outrage culture in Season 22, possibly even starting with the premiere. The only thing we know for certain is that anyone legitimately outraged over the series' upcoming season is going to have a hell of a time getting an actual cancellation movement trending now that this is out there. Say, that may have been the creators' secret intention all along.
South Park Season 22 will arrive on Comedy Central on Wednesday, September 26, at 10:00 p.m. ET. Keep abreast of all television shows returning and premiering over the next few months with our fall premiere guide.
