So, two weeks ago Paul & Dani, two friends (& Colleagues) at Inferno managed to win an iPad 2 on the Launch day by turning up at the Orange store dressed as an their favourite app (see below).
Of the 10 iPad 2's available only 14 people dressed as their favourite app. The odds were good. Now imagine another chance... The opportunity to win yet another 10 iPad 2's. The mischievous, yet ingenius plot to follow was by one George Hepburn (another colleague at Inferno).
The email went something like this:
Hi All,
Don’t know if anyone is interested in this...on my way to work today passed another Orange store offering to give away 10 more ipad2’s
Same deal as the one that Dani and Paul won, where you turn up dressed as an app.
Maybe you could even borrow their old costumes?
Anyway the Orange store in question is:
West One Shopping Centre,
381-383 Oxford Street
London W1C 2JS
020 7408 0282
Be there at 12:00 noon This Friday. No Late arrivals will be allowed to enter.
If Dani and Paul’s experience I was anything to go by it’ll be like taking candy from a baby.
Good luck
George
Now to the clever cloggs amongst you, this may have seem an obvious pranks but being put into action a full 2 days before the inevitable April 1st, no-one expected what was yet to come. The agency fell hook, line & sinker.
Ideas for apps swarmed through the agency, production began on an otherwise quiet Thursday afternoon. The chance to win a fully spec'd out iPad 2 was too much of a distraction to notice it was all a clever ploy for April Fools. Fortunately I unveiled the plot in the morning, a number of unfortunate souls made their was down to the utterly clueless Orange store, only to return empty handed.
Here are just a couple of the entries... there were plenty more believe me.
Noe's Attempt which took a grand total of 15 minutes to remake the skype logo in grandez scale...
Neda's rendition of the Scrabble App: she visited Hamley's department store, where the staff painted her green, she printed off customised letters spelling iPad... AND even bought a £30 scrabble board and cut out a face shape in order to create a mask like impression of the board.
Yes, that's right folks, even yours truly, fell for it. Having remained a cynic, I didn't think I could waiver the opportunity for a second time... Google Maps was my attempt, so I created a 7 1/2 ft google map marker. I now plan to use this marker with a little project idea... so I will keep you posted on how that turns out...
That's me hidden behind it... The google marker with a couple of legs for good measure, not bad for an hour's work.
The culprit and his master plan. Mr. Hepburn. Thank you very much.
Now we could have stopped there, but we'd put the time so why not see if we could blag an iPad 2...
Here's a letter I forwarded to Orange both on Twitter & via email to their customer services....
Dear Sir/Madam,
(I have now attached the picture - apologies for not sending them before).
I am writing to you with regards to your most recent promotion, of dressing up as your favourite app for the chance to win an iPad2 - at the Apple store on Friday 25th March 2011.
Unfortunately, I have been victim to the most heinous April Fools prank. I couldn't make the Friday event as I was called into an important meeting at work, so lost out on the chance to win anything.
One of my friends who highlighted a fellow colleague's win of the previous competition, has played a ingenius yet embarrassing prank on me for April Fools. I was given the impression that a second version of the competition was to take place, please see below.
"Don’t know if anyone is interested in this... on my way to work today passed another Orange store offering to give away 10 more ipad2’s
Same deal as the one that Dani and Paul won, where you turn up dressed as an app.
Maybe you could even borrow their old costumes?
Anyway the Orange store in question is:
West One Shopping Centre,
381-383 Oxford Street
London W1C 2JS
020 7408 0282
Be there at 12:00 noon This Friday. No Late arrivals will be allowed to enter.
Good luck
George"
As you can see, I am totally gutted but wondered if there's anyway, I could gain a sympathy vote or if I could get another chance, or if you could re-run the competition. Please help me in my quest for an Ipad 2.
Please find the attached fancy dress app I created (google maps), and for which I will inevitably receive continuous piss-taking for many weeks to come.
The only way I feel I can justify the remarks, would be to actually win one in return! I promise to shout from the street corners of your generosity, Failing that opportunity - I'm sure it will at least give you an increase in office moral.
Yours Faithfully & Stupidly,
Mike Cuthell.
Now, this was a serious blag if I'd managed to pull it off and it didn't really amount to much, but it was worth a try... Watch this space for a future google maps project.
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