Someone Is Getting Fired: Racy ‘Shrek’ Photoshoot Embarrasses Studio

We’re sure there is a lot of yelling going on behind closed doors on the Paramount and DreamWorks studio lots this morning.

Photos from a racy shoot to promote “Shrek Forever After” in VMan magazine (which we’ve never heard of, but who are probably loving the free promotion) featuring the beloved familiar friendly Shrek and his friends have hit the web and its about as mindboggling of a marketing misfire as you could ever imagine.

Apparently, VMan approached Paramount with an idea to do a shoot that would be similar to the classy Harper’s Bazaar spread a couple of years back with The Simpsons wearing Chanel, Hermes, Versace and Louis Vuitton that used to help promote “The Simpsons Movie.” The studio initially declined the magazine’s offer for a cover shot, opting instead for a spread in the middle of the magazine.

As you might guess from the photo attached, the results aren’t exactly what the studios had in mind. Paramount has expressed their displeasure with the spread saying, “While we do respect Vman’s creative vision, the shoot did not turn out the way originally envisioned when the idea was first presented by the magazine. In hindsight, we would have declined to include the Shrek characters in such a magazine spread.”

But we think this is just damage control. Intellectual property is usually rigorously protected we would be shocked if Paramount and DreamWorks gave Vman magazine their characters to use without wanting to see the finished result before it went to print (do you think Disney/Pixar would ever let something like this happen?). Our guess? Someone prematurely gave the OK to Vman before it dawned on them just how bad an idea it was and the magazine had probably already gone to print before Paramount/DreamWorks could change their mind.

The shoot which includes Donkey snuggling up to a lingerie-clad model; Shrek and Fiona posing with male and female models wearing barely there leather and denim outfits and a mostly bare-chested model wearing a cross feeds grapes to Puss in Boots isn’t particularly offensive. It’s essentially like Lady Gaga video stills with cartoon characters stuck on top, but as far as branding goes, its one of the dumbest ideas to see the light of day in a long time. You can check out the full gallery of stills here.

“Shrek Forever After” opens on May 21st. Lingerie clad models not included.