Media Shower, Inc. - Viral Marketing Stunt Shuts Down Local School

Mischief Maker's ManualStore this angel in big sizeJune 3, 2009, Boston, MA – A viral business video advised to advance MISCHIEF MAKER’S MANUAL, the new book of pranks and applied jokes for accouchement ages 8-12, landed some of those aforementioned kids in hot baptize if their academy was shut down for the day. On June 2, fifth-grader Troy Hughes of Lansing, MI forwarded the video to every affiliate of his 5th brand class, sparking a agitation that resulted in academy closure.

The antic video, amid at www.mischiefmakersmanual.com, was advised to attending like a affected account segment, cleverly inserting the victim’s name and photo into a bounded advertisement about a massive antic that had shut down the bounded school. When accustomed via e-mail, the video was customized to attending like it had appear from a bounded TV station.

Although the video concluded with a bright bulletin that “you’ve been pranked,” that wasn’t abundant for some kids—and their parents, who took the bulletin literally. Showing the accretion ability of acceptance and parents to self-organize, an e-mail went out to an all-school commitment account maintained by the Parent’s Association, declaring that academy was cancelled.

School administrators, abroad at a agents retreat, did not acquisition out about the bulletin until backward Monday morning—but by again it was too late. “It is important to point out that the bulletin did not arise from the school,” said School Administrator Hugh Rank. “The agents were cat-and-mouse in their classrooms, on time and accessible to teach.”

The Parent’s Association was quick to about-face accusation to the school. “The centralized commitment account was created in acknowledgment to the poor advice advancing from the academy district,” said PTA President Jade Myers. “This is a archetypal case of debris in, debris out.”

For their part, the makers of the video were amused. “It’s a amazing prank,” said John Hargrave, the columnist of MISCHIEF MAKER’S MANUAL. “And anybody abstruse something about dupe what you apprehend online. Which is one affair added than they would accept abstruse at academy that day.”

The antic does alarm into question, however, the belief of ambagious absolute account with affected news, at a time if the candor of “real news” is accepting alleged into catechism by abandoned political and ball shows that becloud the band amid journalism and satire. “It’s a alarming bold they’re playing,” claims media communications assistant Joseph King. “It break down our assurance in authority, and even confuses our own self-identity: ‘Am I real?’”

Such apropos are not endlessly the advance of the viral video, however, which has been downloaded “hundreds of bags of times,” according to the creators. But accustomed their clue record, you ability anticipate alert afore casual that amount on to a friend.

The video is amid at:
www.mischiefmakersmanual.com

ABOUT MISCHIEF MAKER’S MANUAL
The absolute adviser to pranks and applied jokes, MISCHIEF MAKER’S MANUAL is the ultimate advertence for ambitious adolescent troublemakers. It will be appear in bookstores above America on June 11, 2009.

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