To get fans excited about Monday Night Football, ESPN created a fantastic series of ads that featured real NFL turf “as a reminder that pigskin can help you get through a crappy Monday”.
Almost immediately the ads started to disappear as fans decided that real NFL turf would also look great in their own apartment or sports bar.
Of the 90 bus shelter postings that were done, 72 were stolen, and every one of the 85 traditional billboard posters also disappeared.
However, rather than call the ad campaign a failure, ESPN decided to turn the stolen billboards into an even larger success, and replaced each one with a paper version of the turf ad that mimicked a crime scene, and wished bad karma upon anyone that was bold enough to take the ads so that their fellow football enthusiasts could not enjoy them as well.
Notice: If you’re responsible for the theft of the poster made from real NFL turf that was once hanging here, please return it. It was designed as a reminder that pigskin can help you get through a crappy Monday – so stealing it is just really bad karma. Like next Monday, you might trip over your new turf rug and get snagged on you computer’s power cord, bringing it crashing to the floor. Which could theoretically case it to spark, instantly engulfing the aforementioned rug in hellish flames because, as it turns out, synthetic turf is really flammable. You might want to either (A) return the poster or (B) leave like $300 in the take-a-penny jar today. Bottom line, Mom probably wouldn’t be too proud.
The Good:
- Turned a negative into a positive.
- Reacted quickly to the situation.
- Received tons of additional coverage by having a sense of humor.
The Bad:
- Lost a bunch of real NFL turf.
The Future:
- Turn any negative into a positive with quick thinking and a good sense of humor.
New York Times – Turf War Over ESPN Ads at Bus Shelters
The Wizards of Weimer – Karma Police End Turf War
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Sat, Oct 4, 2008
Outdoor