Arcade Fire to end zany promotional campaign?

It was May when Arcade Fire started teasing the release of a new album, broadcasting a live stream from Death Valley, before announcing the release of Everything Now. So far, so standard.

With that, the band kickstarted an incessant promotional campaign that has seen them attempt to copyright the ‘Millennial Whoop’, devise their own dating site, and release their own Rock Band game. Only, there's a catch: apart from the album itself, none of this is real.

If the press is to be believed, following the release of Reflektor Arcade Fire created their own "bespoke intentional community" where they relied on algorithms to write their new record, entering into a "360 degree arrangement" with Everything Now Corp to promote the new album.

Since then the band have spoofed their own music video, set contested dress codes for their shows, prohibited anyone from speaking to band member Richard Reed Parry (tall, red hair), and even created their own branded USB fidget spinners (of all the gimmicks, it's the last one that might actually be real).

The marketing campaign is said to be the work of Tannis Wright, content manager for Everything Now Corp, and has been the subject of much debate since it started. So much so that now Arcade Fire have posted a statement addressing the campaign.

Arcade Fire statement re: Tannis Wright / social media. @pitchfork @stereogum @consequence @NME @RollingStone pic.twitter.com/ntFneFFanE

— Arcade Fire (@arcadefire) August 10, 2017

With Wright no longer at the helm, this could signal a return to a more grounded reality for the band. While some might breathe a sigh of relief, a petition has already been started to #SaveTannis. A collection of some of the campaign's more surreal articles can be found here.

Arcade Fire begin their Infinite Content World Tour in Canada next month. Details of all upcoming shows can be found on the band's website.