Ah, Christmas! A time of gifts, happiness, trees full of garlands, sweets, and carols! The week or so when the world seems to be enveloped in a family happiness ether where nothing bad ever happens! Or, well, at least it should be like that on paper, because a bad marketing campaign can ruin your Christmas sweets, dinners, and even the holiday specials on television. This is what happened to an NBA team that is already looking for ways to cover up a most absurd reputation crisis.
Ho, ho, ho! You’re out of a PS5!
The team in question is the Charlotte Hornets, currently fourth in the Southeast Division, and whose mascot is, well, a hornet named Hugo. Makes sense. Hugo was created by Jim Henson’s daughter in 1988, with the unfortunate coincidence that, a year later, Hurricane Hugo hit the Carolinas causing 107 deaths. But if you think this is a reputation crisis, wait to see what happened this week.
On December 16, during a game between the Hornets and the Philadelphia 76ers, the youngest fans were able to come down to meet Hugo and receive gifts from the team. One of these fans, who had received very good grades, wanted a PlayStation 5… And that’s exactly what he got! Joy, jubilation, applause from the crowd! At least until, as soon as the halftime show ended and the cameras were off, they took the console away and replaced it with a sad sweater. That’s not nice.
Obviously, the kid was devastated, a relative described what happened on Twitter and, after going viral, they corrected their mistake and sent him a proper PS5. They even let him keep the jersey! You tell me if this multimillion-dollar team is generous or not with its youngest fans! The communication team added, besides a loud apology, that “We will give the fan not only the PS5 he should have taken home, but also a VIP experience for a future game.”
You might now have a tremendous grudge against the Charlotte Hornets for playing with a kid’s hopes, but there’s a good part in all of this: they lost 121 to 108. No press can spin that.