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5 Examples of Guerilla Marketing Gone Extremely Wrong [Pics]

weburbanist.com — Guerilla marketing can be a very risky business. Some guerilla marketers who have crossed the line have caused everything from Olympic belly-flops to city-wide bomb scares and have been punished with anything from modest jail time to millions of dollars in fines. Here are five very colorful examples of guerilla marketing gone very very wrong.

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  • str3ama, on 05/07/2008, -5/+59I wouldn't say the Aqua Teen Hunger Force was a disaster - it got in the media, and the end of the day that's all that mattered. More free promotion for them.
    • swrostmore, on 05/07/2008, -2/+27I wouldn't call hanging flashing LED signs "crossing the line" either.
    • lazyeyesam, on 05/07/2008, -0/+17"Though no jail sentences resulted from the incident Turner Broadcasting paid millions of dollars to city police and Homeland Security to resolve the matter." Not sure how free that is.
      • ePuck, on 05/07/2008, -1/+4Each phone call the police made cost probably 100,000 dollars, Number of calls made ~ during the event,100, divided by the cost of the phone infrastructure in Boston. Don't forget to add in the cost of all the computers and cop cars that had to be made to contain the LED attack.
    • Phocion55, on 05/07/2008, -0/+17Better yet, it reignited the very important dialog of 1970's hairstyles between various communities of thought.
    • dcollins, on 05/07/2008, -1/+5ATHF worked out better than anyone could had hoped. I had no idea what ATHF was before that day, and still wouldn't had BPD not made a huge deal over it. Now I have one of these LED signs hanging on my wall.
    • reuscel, on 05/07/2008, -1/+4Too bad the ATHF movie sucked so badly. It's a much better show in 15 minute increments.
    • PatNolan, on 05/07/2008, -0/+2You can't blame ATHF for the stupidity of the Boston Police. If we dumb everything down to the lowest intelligence level, you get things targeted solely for BPD and fans of that rather bad movie.
  • WordsnCollision, on 05/07/2008, -28/+18Aqua Teen Hunger Force itself is a disaster...
    • SuperWinner, on 05/07/2008, -12/+4Sorry I've never even heard of this, is it some kind of aquatic porn?
    • sonicomega, on 05/07/2008, -0/+6Nu uh. ATHF was a well planned traffic jammer for the fun of it all.
  • dougvfr750, on 05/07/2008, -2/+13Who could possibly think that diving into a pool in a blue tutu was brilliant marketing?
    • GumdoMike, on 05/07/2008, -0/+5That was way back in 2004. We were all a bit more innocent and guerilla marketing was just a boy with a dream trying to make it big.
    • Zipko, on 05/07/2008, -0/+5I don't know, the only reason I've even heard of GoldenPalace.com is because of all of their insane advertising gimmicks. It hasn't gotten them any money out of me, but they certainly are creating brand awareness.
  • ivankraszl, on 05/07/2008, -16/+3These are pretty cool new ambient or guerilla ideas though:
    Hole in reality: http://adsoftheworld.com/media/ambient/hp_advanced ...
    Hole in the gorund: http://adsoftheworld.com/media/ambient/mackenzie_u ...
    Bloodbath in the restroom: http://adsoftheworld.com/media/ambient/13th_street ...
  • nahsrocketeer75, on 05/07/2008, -14/+1Here's another recent example brought to you by Hunter College and Coach:
    http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/27495
  • Krovvy, on 05/07/2008, -4/+121Never Forget - 1/31/07

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    • Abomonog, on 05/07/2008, -3/+12I remember it well. Boston Police actually thought that someone would cover a bomb with Glowing LED's and nail it to a wall in public view. That the signs could have even possibly be mistaken for bombs speaks volumes of the raging stupidity that is American law enforcement.

      It's better than the great exploding bong scare in Miami.
  • edstate, on 05/07/2008, -0/+9There is such a thing as "bad PR".
  • capainter, on 05/07/2008, -1/+53By far the best part of the Aqua Teen Hunger Force terrorist scare was the interviews with the two guys that did it, all they would talk about was how sweet their hair was.
  • anderzole, on 05/07/2008, -1/+13sarah marshal reeked of misguided corporate marketing
  • mooseontheloose, on 05/07/2008, -26/+2Um, it's spelled gorilla marketing. gorilla means aggresive and in your face (like the ape) guerilla is a rebel. buried.
    • wild, on 05/07/2008, -2/+24Wow, you are ignorant.

      It is guerilla marketing. The idea is to act like rebels to traditional marketing. You put your crazy idea in a place where people will least expect it, and you try to build a campaign from the ground-up, much like a revolution.
    • msaleem, on 05/07/2008, -1/+18You're an absolute idiot.
    • djobin6, on 05/07/2008, -0/+4Please tell me your comment is some kind of misguided joke.
    • sleepwalkers, on 05/07/2008, -0/+5Oh please tell me you're kidding.
      Please.
    • BXRWXR, on 05/07/2008, -0/+10It's pronounced "Doo-Mahs".
    • InfamousAtheist, on 05/07/2008, -0/+6moose... wrong again! Go back to trolling the politics section.
    • Abomonog, on 05/07/2008, -0/+3Lemme guess. You work for the Boston PD, right?
    • MikeonTV, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1Wow. he got all you guys!
  • compuclean, on 05/07/2008, -17/+2I tried viral marketing for http://www.thelaughterfile.eu.
    It failed.
    Damn.

    Next step: Buy a blue skirt, and wait until London 2012...
  • IphtashuFitz, on 05/07/2008, -3/+3It's things like this that make me sad I live in Boston....
    • gorgalor, on 05/07/2008, -0/+1Other, more relevant things should make you sad because you live in Boston. Like road construction.
  • tobybarnett, on 05/07/2008, -8/+2The Boston campaign could have taken into account current security climate in the US before setting up a bunch of light brights. Could have at least notified the authorities of such a campaign was going to be used.
    • InfamousAtheist, on 05/07/2008, -2/+8Yeah, because notifying the authorities is right in step with the spirit of guerilla marketing.
    • Cirieno, on 05/07/2008, -1/+5Not really, no. A few flashing signs don't warrant a Chicken Little-style omg!terrorists!bombs!thinkofthechildren reaction. That's entirely down to our governments' (UK and US) over-promotion of scare tactics, and the net effect of effectively brainwashing individuals (through constant repetition of selected phrases across the media) into an "over-reaction as prevention" state of mind. The security climate has been specifically moulded to ensure conformity across all areas of the population.
    • Abomonog, on 05/07/2008, -1/+7The Boston Police should have realized that no one in their right mind is going to try to blow anything up with a half inch thick sheet of plastic filled with LEDs. You might get enough explosives in there to take out a milk carton after all of the LED wiring but nothing bigger.
  • ePuck, on 05/07/2008, -0/+2Microsoft Access Database Fails.
  • McP1ckl3s, on 05/07/2008, -0/+4Just wait until people start spotting Heath Ledger in full Joker costume around town.
  • galvo, on 05/07/2008, -4/+0But at least Boston puts out some good hardcore bands.
    • Abomonog, on 05/07/2008, -0/+4Only one or two good bands from Boston. Boston (the band) and I think Aerosmith started in Boston but I'm not sure.
    • smrekar, on 05/08/2008, -1/+1dont forget dropkick murpheys & feverpitch
  • chrissku, on 05/07/2008, -3/+10How about Hillary's campaign? Was that not a marketing disaster?
    • smrekar, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1that is gorilla marketing, not guerilla marketing.
  • PhrosTT, on 05/07/2008, -9/+1without reading the article, let me guess:

    ATHF & Sony PSP Graffiti
  • mkling176, on 05/07/2008, -3/+2lol down
  • reuscel, on 05/07/2008, -1/+32What I loved about the Boston bomb scare (I live in Boston, and thought the whole stunt was a goddamn riot) was that the media chalked it up to our police officers being more diligent than the police in other cities, but they neglected to mention the fact that the signs had been up for over a month when they discovered them.
    • atruskot, on 05/07/2008, -0/+10...and that they were a few blinking LEDs stuck onto a board.
    • wipis, on 05/07/2008, -1/+3Yeah it makes me feel real safe when it takes police over a month to recognize a "potential bomb threat." Further proving that all it takes is a little money and some determination to ***** with a city. So why did we form homeland security and have our right infringed on by the Government?
  • aenima987, on 05/07/2008, -0/+1mirror?
  • ltomson, on 05/07/2008, -0/+4I guess I should hold back on the streaking for the super bowl this year with my company's name on my butt!
    • loginx, on 05/07/2008, -0/+5No, you should still do it, Steve Ballmer.
  • jesseroo, on 05/07/2008, -0/+1mirror
    http://209.85.207.104/search?q=cache:N9RoSmsxd9EJ: ...
  • jonddoe, on 05/07/2008, -0/+5Who can forget the "Piece, love, and linux" graffiti IBM paid for?

    http://archives.cnn.com/2001/TECH/industry/04/19/i ...
  • gatestaker, on 05/07/2008, -2/+2Why not just set up an RSS to divine caroline's front page on a sidebar on digg's, and save us the time of digging it? This stuff is just so interesting!
  • VinnieDaMac, on 05/07/2008, -2/+1Forgetting Sarah Marshall is a great movie!!
  • squasheddog, on 05/07/2008, -0/+1I wonder if this article was posted by a viral marketing douche. it's like cogito ergo sum: as soon as you doubt the marketing, you are marketing.
  • tavisjohn, on 05/07/2008, -6/+1"Guerrilla Marketing" is just a fancy way of saying vandalism or graffiti. It sould be illegal! If Microsoft, Golden Palace, NVIDIA, and Adult Swim can't afford to legally advertise than tough *****!

    What next? Are advertising firms going to break into my house and put up signs, banners, and other adverts in my home? Because if that is the case, they better be wearing a bullett proof vest!

    If they want to advertise on "Public Property" than they should have to get a permit from the local government. If they want to advertise on property owned by buisnesses, then they should have to pay a fee to the owner for the advertising space. And if they want to advertise on private property, they can KISS MY ASS!!!!!!
  • purzzzell, on 05/07/2008, -0/+5Dugg purely because weburbanist knows how to fit 5 list items on ONE ***** PAGE!

    I like the article too, but didn't care enough to digg it just for that :)
  • nickbotner, on 05/07/2008, -0/+2Wouldn't say they went extremely wrong at all... the fact that people are still blogging about them means they went extremely well.
  • Wetzilla, on 05/07/2008, -0/+4Any list of "guerrilla marketing" blunders has to include "All I want for Christmas is a PSP". I would argue that that is much more of a failure than someone putting up some posters for Zune on telephone posts.
  • rennie246, on 05/07/2008, -1/+2"Some divers were apparently put off by the intervention and subsequently failed to complete their dives." Seriously? What kind of Olympic athelete would do that?

    The police man's response to the Zune posters was quite amusing though.
    • sarnia, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1I'm pretty sure they just made that up in the article.
  • Humpasaur, on 05/07/2008, -0/+1Aqua Teen was a HUGE SUCCESS -- took the brand from a stoner cult show to something everyone in the US knew about

    http://www.audiblehype.com/diy/entry/be_innovative ...
  • deya, on 05/08/2008, -0/+0Diving for hits? no thanks!
  • mofw, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1The ATHF ads were placed for the movie not the TV show. Though it appears most of the diggers know that, the article got it wrong.
  • dbdudley, on 05/08/2008, -0/+2The Sarah Marshall people were way oversensitive. If it was my name, I would have just laughed.
  • Hangly, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1No mention of Microsoft and Twitter spamming Digg?
  • Action54, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1haha yah you must be careful with your marketing!! My buddy also got arrested for putting up posters like the Zune guy...
  • detoxdiet, on 05/12/2008, -0/+1Awesome post. I had to include on my blog at http://googletrafficsource.blogspot.com. Thank you.
  • dorveycheg10, on 06/06/2008, -0/+0http://www.wikio.com/user/incest-porn/bio
    http://sci.rutgers.edu/forum/member.php?u=24247
    http://forum.birkebeiner.no/member.php?u=7510
    http://forum.radiostyrt.no/vb/member.php?u=7695
  •  

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