Sony is betting a fictitious technology giant can generate as much excitement as other prominent companies launching new products at the Consumer Electronics Show, releasing a new video promoting its upcoming reboot “Robocop” at the massive expo in Las Vegas. Omnicorp, the corporation in Sony and MGM’s science-fiction franchise, will unveil its latest robot, the RC 2000, during CES — in 2027.
The actual Consumer Electronics Show is taking place this week — Sony CEO Kazuo Hirai delivered one of the keynotes Tuesday – and Sony has released this video announcement as part of its marketing campaign for the film. It opens in theaters Feb. 12.
In the video, which can be seen above, a spokesman for Omnicorp takes the stage to unveil a robot with morality – a central part of the new film. Studios have released similar faux announcements to promote movies before, but Sony took the extra step of also producing a reaction video from fans at this year’s CES.
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Sony declined to comment on the project, but individuals familiar with the campaign said the videos are part of a broader marketing push using Omnicorp to entice fans of the original movie.
“The ‘Robocop’ brand has a strong following from cinephiles, and one of the challenges in this marketing campaign has been getting those brand enthusiasts on board for the idea of the reboot,” one individual said.
The corporation played a major role in the earlier films, so Sony launched a website for Omnicorp at Comic-Con in 2012 and has built up its following across social media. With the movie’s opening a month away, Sony felt CES was the perfect time to re-engage many of those fans.
“There was this reverse-engineered campaign with CES as the pay-off moment,” another individual said. “This is the time where big tech companies make large announcements, and Omnicorp is a big tech company ready to make it big. Even though it’s a made-up company.”