Richard Hancock (one of the testers at US Gold):
At another launch for a football game PR had decided to put thousands of branded foam balls inside a net over the entire, very high ceiling of a nightclub. As the intense launch game promo video played on a huge video wall and the sound blasted through the PA system, the foam balls were released. This must-have sounded awesome during the planning meeting, what could go wrong? Well, the balls were released to several hundred rather drunk people. The entire crowd were playing with the foam balls as they danced to the tunes which pumped so loud the bass made your chest vibrate. This was the best. Then it happened. The drinks were free, so why wouldn’t you take one of the balls and dip it into your pint of Guinness? As the first beer soaked ball soared across the crowd, retaliation quickly turned to escalation. Within minutes the entire club had turned into a scene reminiscent of Omaha Beach, but with foam balls. Everyone was soaked to the skin with sticky alcohol, then the music stopped and the battle died out as a guy came on stage to announce the next event.
ZA The Story of US Gold Chris Wilkins & Roger M. Kean (2015)