Oops! Embarrassing Event-Related Fails
Even the best event planners can be caught with their pants down, when a creative idea doesn’t quite pan out the way they expected. If you’ve felt horrible after having an event fall flat, we hope this list makes you feel a little better – and thankful the following (major) event fails didn’t happen to you.
LG: What goes up… will be shot down
On paper, this idea sounds like something straight out of a Disney movie. Electronics manufacturer LG planned on releasing their new G2 smartphones by releasing a hundred helium-filled balloons into the sky – each balloon containing a voucher that could be exchanged for their new phone.
While the plan was to paint the sky with balloons that would eventually descent from the heavens on lucky recipients, in reality, the people at their event thought different – arming themselves with projectiles and sharp objects, then indiscriminately hurling them into the air, in the hope of bursting a balloon and claiming their prize.
Real life, it would seem, looks very different from fairy tales.
JP Morgan: (Don’t) Feed the trolls
While most of the modern world understands that the internet is possibly the last place intelligent conversation is likely to take place, the folks at JP Morgan seem to have a different view of the situation, deciding to hold a Q&A session with their top executive Jimmy Lee, on Twitter.
Yes, that’s right. Twitter. And yes, you’ve probably already guessed what happened. After an endless barrage of attacks from users, the financial institution shut down the eventful (but ultimately unproductive) session.
While engaging your fans online is a fantastic idea, we definitely advise keeping interactions and events on social media to be light-hearted, fun and positive affairs. Corporate talk, belongs in the real-world.
Miss Universe: And the winner is… oops!
Perhaps the biggest event gaffe in recent memory was made by comedian Steve Harvey. As the host of the Miss Universe Pageant 2015, Harvey announced the winner of the planet’s biggest beauty pageant, then walked off the stage as the "winner" basked in her glory. Except… the wrong winner was announced.
After coming back on stage and (to his credit) accepting responsibility for the mix-up, the correct Miss Universe was crowned – but the damage had been done, and the prestigious event would make headlines for all the wrong reasons in the following weeks.
Later analysis of the incident revealed how a simple problem – a badly designed cue card with the winner and runner-up’s names on it – caused the confusion. The lesson here, is that even the best laid plans can be ruined by a small oversight. Always check the details!
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