*The volume is about to increase.*
SunRocket, a VoIP company targeting consumers, is hosting a contest, Everyday Hogwash. The site encourages bloggers to:
….kick back and have some therapeutic yuks at the millions of little ways companies stick it to us.
Check out these recent rants from everyday people about the Everyday Hogwash they’ve endured, and then why not contribute your own posting on your blog or website to our Hogpile? Your family, friends and co-workers will appreciate the calmer, saner you… and you might even win some cash if you catch the judges’ eyes. Our group laugh therapy continues through March 31.
That’s right. The funniest rants about companies on your s*@# list could win you $200 in the daily contest. ($5000 if you’re the big winner at the end of the comeptition).
It’s an interesting idea, and certainly gaining a lot of blog press for SunRocket. It seems bloggers are jumping at the chance to air their gripes. And with judges like uber-bloggers Steve Rubel and BusyMom, SunRocket’s hitting all the right notes in the blog marketing sphere. It’s a pretty brilliant campaign.
…though not everyone agrees that it’s the best thing for blogs. While judge Rubel calls the contest ” an exciting new conversational marketing campaign, MarketingPilgrim’s Andy Beal thinks it’s “terrible.”
Why do we want to encourage just the complainers? Why reinforce the negative image of bloggers? Surely the sponsor SunRocket could get the same publicity by encouraging both negative AND positive comments?
I think this reflects badly on SunRocket, so, ironically, consider this my entry to the contest.
And while I do think that this is a well planned, well executed campaign…I wonder if Beal isn’t a little bit right about the bad press. As Holly GoLightly famously said, “there are certain shades of limelight that do nothing for a girl’s complexion.”
Additionally, I think this campaign is better suited for a company like relevantNOISE than a telephone service. It might have been more appropriate to focus this campaign on something like “everyday adventures” or local gossip or something, rather than business-bashing.
Nonetheless…sure wish it had been my idea!!
I cant get to the site to see it. Is it still up?
Posted by: Mel | July 16, 2006 at 06:28 PM