“Research In Motion downplayed their new ‘BeBold’ campaign Tuesday following a wave of negative reactions from the Internet,” FOX News reports.
“RIM on Monday introduced four new cartoon superheroes who will help the company spread the word about its products as it looks to regain traction in a market increasingly dominated by rivals Apple and Google,” FOX News reports. “But following nearly universal criticism, RIM quickly backtracked, noting that the infographic campaign was simply intended to ‘be a bit of fun.'”
FOX News reports, “The original image displayed four cartoon superheroes dubbed ‘the Bold Team.’ Gogo Girl can save the day with her ‘brilliant strategy, a smile or a spatula,’ Max Stone is ‘tough, proud and a little wild,’ Justin Steele is ‘always ready to stick up for his friends’ and Trudy Foreal is ‘not afraid to call it as she sees it.'”
“The company encouraged users to share their 2012 resolutions with the hashtag, #BeBold,” FOX News reports. “Instead, users poked fun at what they considered a silly campaign, given the company’s lagging technological competitiveness.”
Full article with beleaguered RIM’s info graphic here.
MacDailyNews Take: Spiraling down the bowl with a flourish!
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “greg103” for the heads up.]
MacDailyNews Take: Spiraling down the bowl with a flourish!
Maybe for RIMM’s last act they should use ‘Scrubbing Bubbles!’ 🙂
“Gogo Girl…”? The genius who named these characters must be the same person who names RIM products.
I’ve got a marketing idea for you, RIM. THINK BOLD. It would be a montage of famous people who were, you know, “bold.” Get Richard Dreyfuss to do the voiceover.
2 friends who’ve used BBs since the 90s can’t hardly wait for the iPhone 5 so they can dump their BBs.
These were guys who loved BBs just 4 years back and swore they’ld never switch.
The world moves on.
Every time I hear someone say “Apple is all marketing, they are just great marketers,” I silently say, “Yes, keep telling yourself that.”
Today we see RIM reaping the rewards of thinking that they can be successful, like Apple, by just marketing harder.
I really liked this Engadget take on th e”HEROS” from RIM:
From left to right: there’s GoGo Girl, who “saves the day with a brilliant strategy” (translation: we don’t have a strategy). Then comes Justin Steele, who’s “always ready to stick up for his friends” (translation: we don’t have friends). Trudy Foreal “isn’t afraid to call it as she sees it” (translation: our shareholders are complaining). Finally, the adventurous Max Stone is “able to jump out of a plane” (translation: we’re going to crash).
god yes — they do should have listen more carefully
to Steve Balmer.
developers – developers – developers – I like their plan a lot too – but they forgot the developers !!!!!
Haven’t RIM learnt from Motorola ads’ fiasco, pinning its ads on pure flamboyant and exuberant fantasy? People soon found out that they could not fly, or have the attributes of droids doing superhuman daydreaming. Apple’s ads is on practical, real-life solutions. And people found out that the iPhone delivers on all its claims.
Refresh my memory….. Who is the target audience? Elementary school children?
I think RIM can make these characters as a continuation of the Cartoon Network’s TEEN TITANS.