From FreshDaily: BlogTO, posted by Corina, October 18, 2008:
Saw V Telemarketing Campaign Shut Down
Despite the launch of the new National ‘Do Not Call’ List, Saw V marketing strategists recently tried to launch a new crank call scare campaign to promote the release of the movie, filmed in Toronto last spring.
But like all good pranks, this one has come to an end with the website pulling the link to the interactive phone message application down permanently last night.
Luckily, I tried it before it went down… take a listen; timely Halloween prank or annoying telemarketing strategy?
Although I think this is a pretty neat idea, some people were apparently scared enough to call in it to police, which caused authorities to issue a warning. So never mind what I think of the campaign, some people were obviously scared enough to demand that the feature be pulled down.
I think it’s a pretty good campaign if the ‘victim’ has seen any of the previous Saw films. If not, the idea is that as an honest prankster, I will dutifully enter my real phone number into the app which will then display it on my victim’s phone. Then again, the voice feature on the site couldn’t say ‘Corina’, and when I tried to use Jane it turned into Janis… this could result in some confusion.
Maybe it’s better to shut it down than let it get out of control, like the Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie promotion that shut down the city of Boston.
Tribe Magazine readers also reminisced about other viral efforts after the Saw V shutdown. Most, like Make Me Super, have innocent intentions; but it just goes to show how ridiculously catchy viral marketing can be… now even Jigsaw’s forced to adhere to the National ‘Do Not Call’ list.
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