It's pretty hard to raise eyebrows in Los Angeles. At any given moment there's a parade of freaks, oddities and costumed superhero impersonators marching up and down Hollywood Blvd. So we took it in stride when a billboard went up sporting the offer “Still a Virgin? For Help Call 888-743-4335 toll free”.
It's not a new prostitution ring boldly announcing their arrival to town, but rather an attempt to drum up publicity for the Sept. 10th release of the new Will Ferrell-produced comedy The Virginity Hit. More than 70,000 people have called the 888 number in just five days' time, and it's becoming a hot topic of conversation. Even better: the advertised number is a working one. If you call it, you’ll be greeted by “Zack,” or Zack Pearlman, one of The Virginity Hit‘s stars.
What does he say? “Press 1 if you’re a virgin, press 2 if you’re friends with a virgin and want to help, press 3 if you don’t know if you’re a virgin or not,” an so on. It's quite funny, if you have a few minutes to kill.
Many residents in Miami, Arizona, Louisiana and San Diego don't quite appreciate the viral joke, however, and are up in arms. Concerned politicians and parents, fearing their children will get the wrong impression about the film (or maybe the right one?), are reportedly demanding that the billboards be removed immediately.
The movie's about exactly what you might imagine. "It's four guys, one camera, and their hilarious experience chronicling the exhilarating and terrifying rite of passage: losing your virginity," according to the film's website.
