The Walt Disney Co. (Japan) on Thursday apologized for promoting the animated movie "Frozen 2" through third-party tweets that were not flagged as advertisements.
Criticism of the content as an apparent stealth marketing campaign went viral on social media.
The Japanese unit of Walt Disney, the distributor of the film in the country, issued a statement admitting that the company asked seven people to create and tweet illustrations expressing their reactions to the film without directing them to mark the content as a promotion.
The company said it had meant for the creators to mention the promotional nature of their tweets, but failed to convey this intention due to a lack of communication.
アナ雪２のエルサが可愛いすぎるとアレンデール国民の私が熱く語っているだけの漫画。
(※エルサが可愛いというネタバレがあるので注意)#アナ雪２と未知の旅へ#アナと雪の女王２ pic.twitter.com/UXXiHivXZ0
— 道雪 葵@ 日曜日西地区 "ま "22a (@michiyukiaporo) December 3, 2019
"We deeply apologize for causing trouble and concern to all the creators who participated and all the movie's fans," the statement said.
"Frozen 2," an adventure story about a magical snow queen and her princess sister, has been a box-office hit since its release in late November.