Devil of a Day Or Marketer’s Dream?

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

The New York Sun

Today may prove lucky for a Brooklyn-based brewery, a Hollywood studio, and other companies capitalizing on the ominous significance of the date.

It’s 6-6-06, and the triple-six denomination is considered by some to be the numerical marking of the devil or the Antichrist. While the date may keep the most superstitious New Yorkers at home, some marketers are betting that others will commemorate the once-in-a-century occasion by throwing back a beer or going to the movies.

Sixpoint Craft Ale is sponsoring a “Shout at the Devil” bash tonight at Stoned Crow bar in Greenwich Village. All six of the company’s brews will be on tap at the Washington Place haunt, where a burger-and-fries special will cost $6.66. Keeping with the theme, the disc jockey will limit his music selections to songs that invoke the words “devil” or “hell.” Think Elvis’ “Devil in Disguise,” ZZ Top’s “Highway to Hell,” and the party’s namesake, “Shout at the Devil” by Motley Crue.

“We’re not promoting anything demonic or satanic,” a founder of Six point, Shane Welch, said. “We don’t see this as a way to build on people’s anxiety, but a way to relieve people’s fears.”

Today also marks the opening of Twentieth Century Fox’s “The Omen” – a remake of a 1976 horror flick about a switched-at-birth 5-year-old who turns out to be the Antichrist. Fox planned a June 6 release, more than a year ago when it gave the go-ahead for the film, according to studio executives. “The number 666 has a tremendous impact on our culture,” Fox’s executive vice president of marketing, Jeffrey Godsick, said. “We see it manifesting itself in different ways. It ranges from those who believe that the Antichrist is coming, to women who don’t want their babies born on that day, to people who think it’s just a really fun day to see a scary movie.”

Or purchase a book, or a CD, perhaps. The latest installment of the apocalyptic fiction series “Left Behind” will hit stores today. So too will David Lee Roth’s Van Halen tribute album, “Strummin’ With the Devil.”

The author of “Believing in Magic: The Psychology of Superstition,” Stuart Vyse, said superstitions give people the illusion of control in an uncertain world. “We prefer even a false sense of order to chaos,” Mr. Vise, a psychology professor at Connecticut College in New London, said. “They want to believe that they can decrease the likelihood of something happening, so they avoid an important meeting or decide not to have an operation on Friday the 13.”

Mr. Vyse said that while superstitions can seem irrational, they are not necessarily a sign of low intelligence or lack of sophistication. He cited superstitious pre-exam rituals at Harvard and Yale, and said President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, for example, was petrified of the number 13. “No one is immune,” he said.

A 23-year-old executive assistant, Leeani Garcia, said she not superstitious, but worries that someone may take advantage of people’s fears and “try to make something happen.”

Ms. Garcia, a Lower East Side resident who works in the Chrysler Center at 666 Third Avenue, said the building’s address initially made her nervous, especially given that, until early 2001, she worked on the 106th floor of the World Trade Center “I thought it was kind of eerie,” she said, of the Chrysler Center’s address. “Now I don’t even think about it, but when people come to the office – it makes them uncomfortable.”

The origin of the diabolic superstition is the Book of Revelation in the Christian Bible: “Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast for it is the number of a man, and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.”

The New York City Police Department said the force responds to threats, not calendar superstitions, and had no plans for special security measures today. As of 5 p.m. yesterday, police said they had received no date-related threats.


The New York Sun

© 2024 The New York Sun Company, LLC. All rights reserved.

Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. The material on this site is protected by copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used.

The New York Sun

Sign in or  Create a free account

By continuing you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use