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Dr. Pepper Promotion Shuts Down Boston Crypt

From Apryl Duncan, About.com Guide   February 26, 2007

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The city of Boston is mad again and this time it's not at Time Warner. For the second time in just a few short weeks, a company's promotion has interrupted business as usual for the city. Granary Burying Ground had to be closed over the weekend when a Dr. Pepper promotion hinted that a gold coin that could be worth $1 million might be buried at the historic site. Officials from the Boston Parks Commission feared the treasure hunters that showed up Saturday would destroy the grounds where John Hancock, Paul Revere, Samuel Adams, Benjamin Franklin and other historical figures are buried.

Dr. Pepper cancelled the contest and pulled the coin from the entrance of a 200-year-old crypt. Now one winner will be selected at random from the Dr. Pepper Web site for $10,000, the value of the Boston coin. The winning $1 million coin was found in Houston, Texas.

More on the Dr. Pepper Promotion:

The promotion comes on the heels of Turner Broadcasting's Cartoon Network placing light boards around Boston and other cities. The light boards were mistaken for terrorist devices and shut the city down. Turner Broadcasting and New York ad firm Interference ended up paying $2 million to Boston to help cover the cost of police and other state agencies.

Placing light boards around cities without permission and putting coins in historic locations without permission -- are these genius marketing ideas or irresponsible promotions? Click on the Comments link below and share your thoughts.
Comments
March 6, 2007 at 11:20 pm
(1) Apache Ninja :

I think that the city of Boston overreacted to the boxes situation, and that if they didn’t know it was for Dr. Pepper then the idea mustn’t of been that effective. Though this comment comes from the poor coverage here (Australia) on the news, and this article.

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