There are very few media disasters in the world that cannot be resuscitated by a carefully orchestrated scandal. And what better way to get those arbiters of British decency, the Daily Mail, spluttering into their ‘coming over here, stealing all our’ cornflakes in the morning than a poster advertising the movie version of events leading up to the death of their favourite Royal princess, right outside the tunnel where that fatal accident occurred.

The chances that the marketing company responsible for ad placement in Paris did not know the relevance of the Pont de ‘Alma site to the film they’re plugging are so remote as to be laughable. The alternative – a spike in ticket sales prompted by a slew of outraged editorials provoked by a violent intervention not unlike that experienced by Mia Wallace in Pulp Fiction – is infinitely more plausible and a damn sight more realistic in a society where the imperative is usually, if not always, financial.

Rosa Monckton, Diana’s former best friend and the DM’s go-to-girl for all things Diana, has described the placement of the poster as ‘shameless and despicable‘.

Personally, I’m fine with it. At least the filmmakers are upfront about their desire to make money and media traction off the tragic death of a human being.

Image via destaandard.