10 Terrible Marketing Stunts by Tech Companies

Image via Complex Original

Date: 1996 

At a time when the mouse was still foreign to most of us, Panasonic applied its ingenuity to create a touchscreen PC made for the home market. The decision was made to name its computer after a popular cartoon character, in this case Woody Woodpecker, and featured an ad campaign with the slogan “Touch Woody—the Internet Pecker.” Seriously, this was approved.

An American staffer informed the Japanese team of the sexual overtones, which many executives were embarrassed about, compelling the company to postpone the product launch. While Panasonic felt it was too late to rename the machine, it changed the moniker of the touch screen feature from “Touch Woody” to the “Woody Touch Screen.” Some people just don't get it.

Date: Aug. 5, 2002 

Sending two fully nude streakers onto a soccer field with your businsse logo painted on their bodies…not the smartest move. Vodafone’s balls-to-the-wall advertising approach was executed at the Bledisloe Cup in Sydney and sparked tons of publicity, along with public outrage. This obviously forced the CEO to issue a public apology. He also donated $30,000 to a local sports charity.

Date: Oct. 25, 2002

Graffiti has taken on many shapes and forms over the past years, transitioning into a modern art form embraced by the New York. That so wasn't the scenario back the early 2000s. Two days after city officials cleaned up Nike decals plastered across the city, Microsoft pulled the same move for its MSN 8 Internet launch—placing stickers of the service's signature butterfly logo throughout the city. Backlash soon followed with one Municipal Art Society director stating the campaign was “nothing more than corporate graffit” and “no better than all those kids out there tagging subway cars." 

Date: Feb. 1, 2007

Turner Broadcasting created a campaign promoting its hit Cartoon Network series, setting numerous LED signs across cites in the nation. All it took was one resident from Boston to cause mass hysteria, calling the policing thinking the devices were bombs and turning the campaign into a terrorism scare. Not only did the network head get fired, but Time Warner was forced to cough up $2 million for all emergecy response services. Boom!

Date: March 1, 2008 

YouTube imposter Cashtomato.com figured the best way to draw attention to its domain was by handing out cash in bags of tomatoes on the streets of New York. And as most typical human beings with common sense foresaw, civilians rioted over the $29 sacks the moment an employee panicked and throw the entire stash into a garbage bag upon seeing the massive crowd. Should've known money holds a strong scent in the Rotten Apple.

Date: June 11, 2009 

Some people do the craziest things for a video game. THQ proved this, along with how incredibly retarded its marketing department was at the time by welcoming the public to smash a car parked on a Londen street with a chained sledgehammer for a chance to snatch a copy of Red Faction: Guerilla. It never occured to the gaming publisher that leaving such a weapon open for public use could have inspired urban destruction, though nothing escalated. But seriously? C'mon!

Date: May 18, 2010 

CEO Todd Davis shared his social security number on numerous billboards and onlines ads, daring people to steal his personal information, while hoping to showcase the top-notch security provided by his LifeLock service. It was reported years later his identity was infact stolen: 13 times over 87 attempts. Davis believed the service worked based on the small success rate, though the Federal Trade Commission begged to differ and fined the company $12 million for deceitful marketing. Dude asked for it.

Date: Feb. 15, 2011 

One genius over at Dell thought it was an awesome idea to send two masked bikers dressed in all black and waving “small metallic objects” to the Round Rock, Texas campus, where employees were rallied into the lobby for an internal promo event for the Dell Streak. Since no one was up on the prank, several people panicked and called in the authorities—charging both men with two misdemeanors—those being deadly conduct and interfering with public duties. 

Date: Aug. 15, 2012 

Considering its previous advertising blunders (reference the Dante’s Inferno release), it’s no surprise that EA managed to get itself caught up in a scandal that blurs the lines between real-world and video game violence. The game publisher accomplished such stupidity by directly linking gun-seller domains on the official Medal of Honor: Warfighter website, allowing players to use their credit card for purchasing real weapons. The insurmountable backlash caused EA to pull all advertisements and links featured on the site.

Date: Aug. 12, 2013 

A marketing stunt promoting LG's latest Android powerhouse, the G2, had the Korean conglomerate releasing a batch of helium-filled ballons carrying free vouchers for the phone. This would only entice several people in the crowd to shoot down the ballons with BB guns, hitting several bystanders in the process and injuring close to 20 people. LG cancelled all future 'G in the Cloud' events and offered to pay the medical expenses for those injured.