4 months ago
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We have another entry into the Marketing Disaster Hall of Fame. This time, it involves a Las Vegas hot dog restaurant and the beloved TV show Bluey. Last weekend, Dirt Dog decided to hold a “Bluey Day.” Bluey Day was supposed to have face painting, games, giveaways, treats, and a chance to meet Bluey herself. It sounds like a great idea, right? We’ve been to a couple of “Meet the Paw Patrol” events at local McDonald’s or fire stations or whatever, and they were always cute, with fun activities and the chance to potentially scare the sh-t out of your kids by giving them the opportunity to meet giant versions of Chase and Marshall in real life.
Except, that’s not exactly what went down at Dirt Dog. Someone there didn’t do their homework and planned an event for a small crowd, only to have hundreds of families show up. The giveaways and food ran out quickly, which is bad enough for a children’s event, but that wasn’t the worst part. The worst/most hilariously unfortunate part of this entire debacle was Bluey herself. The blue half of the Heeler sisters was played by a male employee dressed up in a Bluey hooded onesie. I’m having a hard time even typing this without laughing. They could even see his beard, hahahaha. Okay, I’ll stop laughing, because some kids did cry.
A Las Vegas hot dog restaurant apparently brought the wrath of hundreds, if not thousands, of fans of the animated Australian pooch down on their own heads this week, after announcing a free “Bluey Day” at their restaurant without understanding the series of events that their careless actions had so thoughtlessly set in motion.
Per a report from local news station Fox 5 (and as reported by SFGate), proprietors of the Las Vegas location of Dirty Dog [sic] thought they’d get 50 or 60 attendees at their Bluey day, presumably because they are fools who did not grasp the sheer terrifying power that the adorable Australian Blue Heeler holds over the minds of both children, and desperate parents grateful to be able to put something on their TVs that is actually funny and good for once. Despite getting thousands of RSVPs for the event on Facebook, the restaurant still didn’t prepare itself for the onslaught, leading to massive lines, shortages of giveaway materials, and lots of angry comments on their social media.
At least the kids got to see Bluey, though, right? A real costume and everything, and not some Spirit Halloween “Australian Blue Canine” bullshit that some poor employee got shoved into, pulling a Bluey-themed hood down over his face to try to hide his shame from God and everyone? Not so much, as reported by extremely funny child attendee Sophia, who declared (and really, you should just watch the clip, Sophia kicks ass) that she just couldn’t, with Bluey. “He looked like unexpected,” Sophia declared, funnier than we will ever be. “We could like see his beard.”
Dirty Dog [sic] has issued a formal apology to attendees to the event, writing that, “We are truly sorry this event wasn’t the expected experience… We hope to repair our relationship with you.”
After the Willy Wonka Experience debacle went viral, it is absolutely wild that anyone would try to half-ass an appearance involving a beloved family franchise, because just like Wonka, the Heeler family appeals to the whole fam. That said, the event was free, so it’s likely that Dirt Dog had good intentions of doing something for the community while also promoting themselves. So while Wonka may have been Fyre Fest for Families, I feel kinda bad calling this Fyre Fest for Toddlers. At least they didn’t attempt to add a poorly written AI script with an “evil chocolate maker who lives in the walls” character called the Unknown (that still cracks me up). So, there’s that.
If I had been in charge of Bluey Day and saw that it was getting thousands of RSVPs, I would have set some expectations and added language to the promo material saying something like, “First 50 fans get a Bluey cupcake!” and given out coupons for a free hot dog or something to make up for not having enough materials. I also would have found a female employee to play Bluey or invested in an actual costume instead of something a teenager wears to trick-or-treat, LMAO.
A Bluey event done by a Las Vegas restaurant has upset thousands of parents after the meet-&-greet was just a man in a Bluey onesie.
“Some kids were crying. Some kids were upset, crying in their parents’ shoulders”
(Source: https://t.co/AK9OpkH9SM) pic.twitter.com/xsWOL6aO1G
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) May 18, 2024
