Marketing plant? April 20, 2007 2:50 AM Subscribe
This post might be a self-link with one level of indirection. It's certainly just marketing, regardless.
Pfft. baddlydubbedboy has been here for ages (Jan '05). He lists his location as Conwy Castle, Wales — no spiky-haired viral media types would be seen dead within a hundred miles of Wales. He has a blog, which reads like the blog of a real person.
posted by Aloysius Bear at 3:04 AM on April 20, 2007
posted by Aloysius Bear at 3:04 AM on April 20, 2007
Yeah, seems like a marketing ploy, but I'm kind of doubting the poster is in on it.
posted by the other side at 3:07 AM on April 20, 2007
posted by the other side at 3:07 AM on April 20, 2007
Doesn't matter if he's in on it. I'm sure (if not) he'd favour deletion if he learned he'd been duped.
posted by dreamsign at 3:07 AM on April 20, 2007
posted by dreamsign at 3:07 AM on April 20, 2007
I'm fairly certain that it's not a marketing ploy.
The ragevirus.com domain is riddled with Adsense, which would not happen with a Fox movie. Everyone should give him a charity click for initiative at least.
The registrant is a ****@mclaughlin.me.uk
If you go to mclaughlin.me.uk, there is a folder called MacStuff, in it he's got his CV and lots of other stuff I'm sure he doesn't want shared with the world (I've emailed him).
He doesn't work for anyone like Fox, I think it's a phone company he works for, developing software.
His dead blog is here http://undercrank.com/
Just the facts ma'am.
posted by snailer at 3:22 AM on April 20, 2007
The ragevirus.com domain is riddled with Adsense, which would not happen with a Fox movie. Everyone should give him a charity click for initiative at least.
The registrant is a ****@mclaughlin.me.uk
If you go to mclaughlin.me.uk, there is a folder called MacStuff, in it he's got his CV and lots of other stuff I'm sure he doesn't want shared with the world (I've emailed him).
He doesn't work for anyone like Fox, I think it's a phone company he works for, developing software.
His dead blog is here http://undercrank.com/
Just the facts ma'am.
posted by snailer at 3:22 AM on April 20, 2007
Is the conspiracy theory here that Fox deliberately put the wrong web address on the graffiti all over London (clearly it should be ragevirus.co.uk, which redirects to the movie site) so that it would get free publicity from blog postings pointing out their stupid error? Really? And this would make people think highly of the movie how, exactly?
posted by game warden to the events rhino at 3:44 AM on April 20, 2007
posted by game warden to the events rhino at 3:44 AM on April 20, 2007
ragevirus.com: "And hey, Fox - you should probably tell someone off in your marketing team."
What kind of idiot viral marketer would, in bold, mention that Fox, of all people, are making this film?
posted by Aloysius Bear at 3:49 AM on April 20, 2007
What kind of idiot viral marketer would, in bold, mention that Fox, of all people, are making this film?
posted by Aloysius Bear at 3:49 AM on April 20, 2007
(Oh, I see, you mean you think the AdSense site is run by Fox too. I don't believe it.)
Anyway Malor how are we to know you're not a viral marketer too, intent, with your MeTa posting, on spreading the message of 28 Weeks Later to the MeTa-reading demographic? It's like 9/11 all over again. Cui bono? CUI BONO???
posted by game warden to the events rhino at 3:53 AM on April 20, 2007 [2 favorites]
Anyway Malor how are we to know you're not a viral marketer too, intent, with your MeTa posting, on spreading the message of 28 Weeks Later to the MeTa-reading demographic? It's like 9/11 all over again. Cui bono? CUI BONO???
posted by game warden to the events rhino at 3:53 AM on April 20, 2007 [2 favorites]
I only wish I was a web marketing person. and if I was, I'd certainly have put the right URL on, for a start. I faced enough marketeers putting on wrong URLs in my previous job.
btw, for what it's worth, I'm now a Project Manager.
posted by badlydubbedboy at 4:18 AM on April 20, 2007
btw, for what it's worth, I'm now a Project Manager.
posted by badlydubbedboy at 4:18 AM on April 20, 2007
Wait a minute? Are you trying to say there's a correlation between peoples interests and what they post on the front page? Get me Scotland Yard on the phone post haste!
posted by furtive at 4:31 AM on April 20, 2007 [2 favorites]
posted by furtive at 4:31 AM on April 20, 2007 [2 favorites]
Hmm, posting the domain owner's details in the comments was unnecessary, might be nice to edit that out (yeah, whois data is readily browsable, but I still think publishing someone's full name and address and getting it permanently logged in Google is an invasion of privacy).
posted by malevolent at 5:38 AM on April 20, 2007
posted by malevolent at 5:38 AM on April 20, 2007
Yeah, I think the story isn't that they forgot to register the domain, but that told their graffiti-spraying minions the wrong domain - it was supposed to be ragevirus.co.uk.
Still, it's always nice to see people over-reacting to the slightest possibility that something could be somehow related to marketing. Someone has to defend us against the possibility that we might accidentally see a commercial message.
posted by flashboy at 5:50 AM on April 20, 2007 [1 favorite]
Still, it's always nice to see people over-reacting to the slightest possibility that something could be somehow related to marketing. Someone has to defend us against the possibility that we might accidentally see a commercial message.
posted by flashboy at 5:50 AM on April 20, 2007 [1 favorite]
Thou shalt not assume that any person who chooses not to mock people who deserve it is a shill for the man. Some people are just nice.
Freaks.
posted by Skorgu at 6:05 AM on April 20, 2007
Freaks.
posted by Skorgu at 6:05 AM on April 20, 2007
Pfft. baddlydubbedboy has been here for ages (Jan '05)
2 years is ages? I think I've had posting priviledges that long and I wouldn't say I've been here for ages. But then again I'm 37 and this whole internet age I don't fully grasp anyway.
posted by spicynuts at 6:23 AM on April 20, 2007
badlydubbedboy, the only way for you to prove your innocence is to put my kid's baby pictures up on your site. Maybe everyone's baby pictures.
posted by popechunk at 6:27 AM on April 20, 2007
posted by popechunk at 6:27 AM on April 20, 2007
I don't buy the bdb-as-sleeper-agent theory, but the post is just kind of lame, regardless. Blarg.
posted by cortex (staff) at 6:27 AM on April 20, 2007
posted by cortex (staff) at 6:27 AM on April 20, 2007
"Ages", I think, meaning "that would be a hell of a long time to lay the groundwork for secretly posting a bit of viral marketing one day". S'all relative.
Also, I just realised that badlydubbedboy is the dude from wonderful electirc, which is a good blog.
posted by flashboy at 6:29 AM on April 20, 2007
Also, I just realised that badlydubbedboy is the dude from wonderful electirc, which is a good blog.
posted by flashboy at 6:29 AM on April 20, 2007
wait a tick....that ain't your web site....
/runs for coffee
posted by popechunk at 6:30 AM on April 20, 2007
/runs for coffee
posted by popechunk at 6:30 AM on April 20, 2007
The only reason I could think of for a viral marketer to put the "wrong" web address would be because they thought it would prevent the police from figuring out who did the graffiti and charging them with it.
posted by drezdn at 7:46 AM on April 20, 2007
posted by drezdn at 7:46 AM on April 20, 2007
Dreamsign: Doesn't matter if he's in on it.
Well, it matters in the sense that if he is that would be a lot worse, which is what I was hinting at.
posted by the other side at 12:59 PM on April 20, 2007
Well, it matters in the sense that if he is that would be a lot worse, which is what I was hinting at.
posted by the other side at 12:59 PM on April 20, 2007
It's worth noting that the website has since updated with some clarifications (naming MeFi, no less):
Hello visitors from MeFi, B3ta (amongst others!).
A few points to clear up:
1. The marketing team involved really did cock up by not registering the URL. I spotted the poxy stencil near my office last week one lunchtime and was gobsmacked it wasn't registered. So I grabbed it instead at Nathan Barley's expense.
2. I am not a web marketer - just being a complete opportunist at someone elses mistake. (I actually do mobile stuff at Skype, for what it's worth).
3. Said marketers have been in touch and played a big sob story claiming they are out of pocket and this has been a disaster for them. Well, boo-hoo.
4. The links to the official sites and the meta stuff is all about making the AdSense blocks come up with more relevant content. I'm not daft.
posted by Arturus at 12:40 AM on April 21, 2007
Hello visitors from MeFi, B3ta (amongst others!).
A few points to clear up:
1. The marketing team involved really did cock up by not registering the URL. I spotted the poxy stencil near my office last week one lunchtime and was gobsmacked it wasn't registered. So I grabbed it instead at Nathan Barley's expense.
2. I am not a web marketer - just being a complete opportunist at someone elses mistake. (I actually do mobile stuff at Skype, for what it's worth).
3. Said marketers have been in touch and played a big sob story claiming they are out of pocket and this has been a disaster for them. Well, boo-hoo.
4. The links to the official sites and the meta stuff is all about making the AdSense blocks come up with more relevant content. I'm not daft.
posted by Arturus at 12:40 AM on April 21, 2007
Thanks for the followup, Arturus. I jumped the gun a bit... I'll try to be less hasty in the future.
posted by Malor at 1:16 PM on April 21, 2007
posted by Malor at 1:16 PM on April 21, 2007
According to a friend in movie-marketing in London, this story has been all over Soho for days and is causing a great deal of laughter at Fox's expense. Serious in-industry face has been lost because of it. No way was it a deliberate error.
posted by Hogshead at 7:42 AM on April 23, 2007
posted by Hogshead at 7:42 AM on April 23, 2007
You are not logged in, either login or create an account to post comments
This just smells really fishy.
posted by Malor at 2:51 AM on April 20, 2007