BLOWIN’ IN THE WIND

When it comes to provocative ad copy, it’s hard to top the poster for the long-awaited Stanley Kubrick film, “Full Metal Jacket,” due out in late June. Adorned with a picture of a combat helmet (emblazoned with the motto “Born to Kill”), the poster reads: “In Vietnam, the wind doesn’t blow. It sucks.”

According to Warner Bros. publicity exec Joe Hyams, the author of the slogan was Kubrick himself: “Stanley and (co-screenwriter) Michael Herr came up with the line, which was an expression Herr said was used by a lot of the Marines in Vietnam. I guess some people will think it is startling, but it’s really not so horrific anymore.”

But still controversial: The Motion Picture Assn. of America has approved the ad copy, but Warners says that when an “Entertainment Tonight” reporter asked “seven or eight” newspapers around the country if they’d run the ad copy, two ad departments--the New York Times and the Boston Globe--said they wouldn’t run it. (An official at the Boston Globe confirmed that the paper wouldn’t accept it; the New York Times’ ad spokeman wasn’t available at press time. The L.A. Times’ ad folks say that they’re waiting for an official submission before making a judgment.)

Hyams insists Warners isn’t worried--yet. “We’re sweating it out, but we’re staying with the ad for now. I assume we’ll do an alternative campaign, but we haven’t even thought about it yet.”

Kubrick’s reaction? “He understands. He’s said that if the papers officially reject the ads when we submit them, then he’ll appeal to their publishers--he’ll write a letter or something. It’s his style.”