Another company learns how dangerous the word 'FREE' can be

[CrazedClerkthe2nd]

http://www.buzzfeed.com/copyranter/l...horribly-wrong

Summary:

As a publicity stunt, LG decided to give away a limited number of its brand new phones. They stuck vouchers for the phones in helium balloons and encouraged people to come on down and try to win one.

People did come...armed with BB guns and knives on poles to burst the balloons. Almost as soon as the event started, all hell broke loose. In the end 20 people were injured.

LG's response in a single word: Oops.

[dendawg]

And this was in Seoul.

Imagine how much worse it'd be here in the good ol' USA.

[JustaCashier]

Good god.

How much do companies spend to study human behavior, to determine shopping habits, the best places for product placement, product and packaging design etc, to where a consumer may be more apt to choose that company's product over a competitor's, and they didn't even have the common sense to see that this stunt could be a disaster?

I'd almost be willing to bet that store level employees would have predicted such an outcome.

Mike

[wolfie]

Of course the store level employees would have predicted the outcome, but naturally the creative geniuses who came up with this promotion didn't listen to them - after all, if their opinions were worth listening to, they'd be executives instead of peons.

With God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly.

[sms001]

I thought turkeys could fly.

First thing I thought of too, Wolfie. Poor Mr. Carlson.