Original Banksy Stolen From Australian Hotel – Thieves Caught, No Charges Laid

Prague – Czech Republic

In a daring feat of cunning Maura Tuohy and her criminal accomplice managed to walk into an Art Series Hotel in Melbourne armed with a great idea, and they left with an original Banksy painting. 15 minutes after pulling off the succesfull heist they walked back into the hotel to boast about their accomplishment. The catch?

Steal a Banksy and stay the night, screen shot from the Art Series Hotels website

The Art Series Hotels actually wants you to try and steal their Banksy paintings. It’s all part of a campaign to raise awareness about their hotels. If you steal the Banksy you get a free nights stay. It’s quite simple, you must check into the hotel, succesfully steal the painting, hopefully no one gets hurt, and in the end you give it back for a free nights stay.

It’s a great marketing ploy, and really great if you are an enterprising art thief who wants practice- without getting arrested. The only person who might be upset is Banksy- who ironically speaks out about the commercialization of art. But hey! If he doesn’t like it, he can always steal it back.

Maura Tuhoy walking her Banksy out of the Hotel and past the cameras, screen shot from the Art Series Hotels website

** Thanks to the Art Series Hotelsand Marketing News for the photos and info. **

Angry Tampons, Social Media Works its Magic

Toronto – Ontario

Yes, that’s right!! Tack one up for the consumer, the female consumer that is. Recently O.B. the consumer goods company, has decided to take its new line of tampons off the shelf to bring in the apparently quite popular “old” O.B. Ultra Brand.

O.B. Tampons "We're Really Really Sorry, Really."

The move comes after outraged consumers voiced their opinions on the website www.obultratampons.com where an organized group of “activists” used various types of social media to raise awareness for their cause. Besides the website which provides a detailed manifesto on why the line should not be discontinued, there are various applications to spread the word including: facebook, yahoobuzz, twitter and stumblupon.

In addition to bringing back the line of tampons O.B. also posted a coupon and a lighthearted, slightly humorous video apology on their website. A nice music video, coupon and bringing the product back? O.B. has definitely upped the ante for anyone apologizing to their girlfriend.

This story is great because it shows social media in action, and a company actually listening to consumers. It is the type of human touch that companies so often talk about, but rarely perform. It is also part of a growing trend where companies are using the avenues of communication available to them to make important decisions. Just recently the GAP also reversed a decision to change its logo due to customer opposition. Considering that nowadays about 9 out of 10 product launches fail, companies might want to consider using this tactic BEFORE they actually launch a product.

In the case of O.B. if consumers can get over the feeling of betrayal, this could be a success story in the making.