Comments on: Is the "Garden Gnome" a guerrilla marketing campaign?

Question: Is the "Garden Gnome" a guerrilla marketing campaign?

limitedpie — Wed, 24 Dec 2003 20:53:22 -0800

Faux homemade posters asking "Where is my Garden Gnome" (with the URL of this site) have been popping all over my neighborhood in nyc. On the poster (visible here, pdf) is a toll free number with a funny "homespun" message. This definitely has the feel of some guerrilla marketing campaign. (Who would pay for all those toll free calls...) Or is it some new hoax art project? An (inefficient) email harvester (see the disclaimer on the contact page...)? What? Anyone have any idea? (btw: there was an Oct 28th MeFi FPP about gnomes, but the FPP link is dead... was this related?)

By: greasepig

greasepig — Wed, 24 Dec 2003 21:48:28 -0800

Yes, it is a guerilla marketing campaign. But I don't think I'm allowed to say anything about it, as it's my employer. I hope they don't track me down about this. Seriously.

By: greasepig

greasepig — Wed, 24 Dec 2003 21:51:03 -0800

I mean, you can tell it's a professionally done site, what with the fancy tracking javascript stuff in the source. You all would have figured it out soon enough, right?

By: birdherder

birdherder — Wed, 24 Dec 2003 22:44:50 -0800

It is pretty obvious in the quicktime.

By: Item

Item — Thu, 25 Dec 2003 01:43:01 -0800

Travelocity?

By: planetkyoto

planetkyoto — Thu, 25 Dec 2003 02:18:21 -0800

Why would he know how the gnome's trip was booked if it was kidnapped?

By: limitedpie

limitedpie — Thu, 25 Dec 2003 05:24:57 -0800

oh greasepig, don't hold out on us! Really, what means more to you: your job and its attendant benefits or metafilter!

By: greasepig

greasepig — Thu, 25 Dec 2003 10:34:20 -0800

That's a tough one.

By: wendell

wendell — Thu, 25 Dec 2003 13:05:52 -0800

You wouldn't be the first to choose MetaFilter...

By: andrew cooke

andrew cooke — Thu, 25 Dec 2003 13:25:42 -0800

travelocity makes sense. the site's registered to someone at 333 corporate plaza, raleigh. mckinney + silver are there and have travelocity's act.

By: jessamyn

jessamyn — Sun, 28 Dec 2003 10:43:45 -0800

and how's this for a privacy statement, websitewise

My friend's neighbor is a lawyer and he told me that I have to tell you that if you email me and check the box, I'm allowed to email you back. He also said that if you send me an email or leave me a phone message, I'm allowed to put your words up on the site. And you can't sue me about it.

I mean, of course you can sue him/them, you just may not win.....