Comments on: 6 Marvelously Misguided Promotions

By: Karen

Karen — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 15:18:16 +0000

I’m amused that the random capitalization in the Cash Tomato video makes it look like Sting’s band was called to break up the riot.

By: adam

adam — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 18:25:09 +0000

Disco Demolition was the Chicago White Sox. The promotion was the brainchild of Steve Dahl and Garry Meier, who were radio personalities at ‘The Loop’ FM in Chicago. This was the height of the Disco Sux backlash, and admission to the ballpark was reduced if you brought a disco record to destroy between games of that night’s double header.

The riot ensued with fans rushing the field and things got so out of control that the White Sox had to forfeit the second game of the doubleheader when order could not be restored. I think this may be the only baseball forfeiture in history caused by a promotional event.

By: sean

sean — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 15:15:09 +0000

there was this gas station/restaraunt off of a highway where i used to live that had a promotion where with the purchase of gas, your child ate for free. however, the promotion was advertised on a banner saying “Kids with gas, eat free!”

i always got a kick out of that

By: huxley75

huxley75 — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 13:44:32 +0000

When I was working at a (major) PR firm, someone had the bright idea of sending out (via USPS) cereal box-sized packages with ticking alarm clocks inside as a promotion for a (now-defunct) Dotcom. While this was pre-9/11, it still did not impress the US Postal Service.

By: Trevor

Trevor — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 03:37:22 +0000

I remember the Bandito Burrito special. Clever, but really pissed off some folks. There must be 5 churches within a few hundred yards of that place.

By: Curtis

Curtis — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 21:57:40 +0000

another classic baseball one:

the indians (i think? myabe the white sox) held down with disco night, they brought out a trash barrel in the 7th inning stretch and had people burn their disco albums, turned into a riot basically.

By: Dave

Dave — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 20:53:38 +0000

What about the WKRP in Cincinnati Thanksgiving “Turkey Drop” promotion? Turkeys dropped from a helicopter… “The turkeys are hitting the ground like sacks of wet cement!”

Oh, wait; that was just a TV show. But it was funny.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZnwmvZhDz4

(Yup; everything is on YouTube these days.)

By: matt

matt — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 20:36:37 +0000

What about 10 Cent Beer Night at the Cleveland Indian games on June 4, 1974?

By: kate

kate — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 20:23:23 +0000

“The firm refused to say how the goat died.”

Yeah, that is a tough one…I’ve got some guesses though.

By: heather

heather — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 19:15:02 +0000

I gotta agree with Rheindog, the ATHF thing was just plain stupid, but not on the company’s part. How can someone possibly think a lighted sign looked like a bomb?