Jason DeCrow/AP
Eminem.
- It looks like an elaborate ad campaign for a fake drug called "Revival" might actually be an announcement of Eminem's upcoming ninth album.
- The fake drug has promotional billboards and a website that make subtle references to Eminem's music.
- The ads were reportedly purchased by Interscope Records, Eminem's label.
Evidence is mounting that an ad campaign for a fake prescription drug called "Revival" is actually a veiled announcement of Eminem's upcoming ninth album from Interscope Records.
As Billboard notes, the fake drug ad first appeared in the background of an Instagram photo from Paul Rosenberg, Eminem's longtime manager and the CEO of Def Jam Records.
Reddit sleuths were quick to point out that the ad featured a backward "E" in the same style of Eminem's logo. They soon discovered that "Revival" has its own legitimate-seeming website, which features an 800-number, a promotional video, and many subtle references to Eminem's music.
The medication supposedly treats "Atrox Rithimus," a non-existent condition, and its side effects, as listed on the website, include a "highly combustible head." The site features multiple references to lyrics from Eminem's 2002 hit "Lose Yourself," and the 800-number plays the piano melody of Eminem's Dr. Dre collaboration, "I Need A Doctor."
As it turns out, the "Revival" ads were purchased by Eminem's label, Interscope Records, according to a listing in the Detroit Free Press.
Rumors of an imminent album release from Eminem began in July, when Allen Hughes, the director of Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine's HBO documentary, "The Defiant Ones," said that Dre was producing a new track for Eminem's album in the "11th hour."
Business Insider has reached out to Eminem's representatives for comment.