Comments on: 6 Promotions That Didn’t Quite Work Out

By: Kayla

Kayla — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 23:06:27 +0000

i should specify, sorry. i remember the nintendo cube incident. Thought it was hilarious.

By: Kayla

Kayla — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 23:05:12 +0000

I remember that! Found a link: http://onnintendo.com/Index.aspx?page=1&post=5&year=2006&month=4

it was more a prank, i guess

By: K

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 23:00:49 +0000

Back in ’93, a couple of DJs from a San Francisco radio station thought it would be funny to clog up Bay Bridge traffic during the morning commute – so one of them could give the other a haircut on the bridge.

Needless to say no one was amused. One of the Djs got fired and arrested, and the station paid out over a million dollars in fines.

By: mickey

mickey — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 19:09:41 +0000

it was in Union Square, and it was hilarious. I wish I had taken pictures.

By: graham

graham — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 18:46:47 +0000

Remember the Hooters promotion for waitress of the month to win a Toyota?

Instead they gave the girl a toy Yoda…calssic.

Also, didn’t Nintendo place a lot of ?cubes around several towns to promote a new Mario Brothers game? Didn’t that prompt several bomb squad calls?

By: Kate

Kate — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 17:46:19 +0000

How about the Toyota marketing campaign that made a woman think she was being stalked? Link in my name.

I fail to see how THAT could have ever seemed like a good idea at the time, but hey.

By: Bert

Bert — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 17:33:12 +0000

Gordon Daily – check out the artilce mentioned in the lead-in to this one.

By: Tim

Tim — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 17:14:01 +0000

Back in the glory days of radio, Knoxville TN entrepreneur and grocer, Cas Walker hired a stunt man named “Digger” O’Dell to be buried alive outside one of his stores for 30 days (with plenty of food and water, of course) and “Digger” would do periodical live broadcasts pitching Cas Walker stores. This got to be too much for “Digger” long before the 30 days were up. Cas, being an astute businessman, prepared for this by taping all the glowing remarks “Digger” had made before he wanted out and playing them while poor “Digger” was cursing and screaming to be let out. Now that’s promotion!

By: Gordon Daily

Gordon Daily — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 16:11:24 +0000

How about the electronic signs placed around Boston when the Cartoon Network decided to try \guerilla\ advertising for their new show \Aqua Teen Hunger Force\? People thought the signs were bombs, and everyone went nuts over it.

The one that I remember most however is a fictional one. \As God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly!\ This was the Thanksgiving Day promotion that Arthur Carlson pulled off for WKRP by tossing live turkeys from a helicopter over a grocery store parking lot while doing a live remote from the location.

By: Jesse

Jesse — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:57:15 +0000

I think that Snapple stunt happened in Union Square, not Times Square.