Funpowder Plot backfires
Police alerted to suspicious packages
A comedy show’s marketing ploy has backfired after people reported bags of suspicious white powder to police.Sketch show Comicide decided to promote their Melbourne Comedy Festival show by scattering 300 of the bags around the city centre.
They were labelled as police evidence bags, but had labels directing anyone who found them to a website, where they would discover they had won tickets to the show.
But instead worried members of the public handed them in to police.
Michelle Sheehan, who found one of the bags, told The Melbourne Leader: ‘I thought it must have been left behind by police investigating a crime.
‘It may be a clever promotional idea, but probably would have been more helpful if it had actually advertised the show.’
Renee-Lea Thackham, who was marketing the show for the Sydney-based sketch group, told the paper: ‘I thought a prank would be the best way to launch the campaign at the comedy festival. Obviously we don’t want to take away police time.’
Published: 23 Apr 2009
