Hypercube Aftermath

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I question general media literacy when Encyclopedia Dramatica is used as a source. In their own words "don't take anything here seriously".
 

 
 

—LOL noobs!


Hypercube II: The Bawfest
Type Fallout after the Hypercube article was spammed across the Cube community via Twatter.
Timeline The second the original article was put on Encyclopedia Dramatica
Location Soviet Canuckistan
Key people Greig Nori,
Leanne Pelosi,
Jew
Industry Baw-festival extraordinaire.
Rules None, as with all art forms, trolling has no rules.
Website Hypercube Canada now links back to cubecommunity.ca...

Moar info: Hypercube.

Awww yeah. I'm runnin' on all 4 cylinders now, baby.

What do you get when you assemble a load of art fag Canadians all vying for a shot at a shitty compact car and combine them with a substandard social media advertising campaign? You get the huge failure of Hypercube. Not only was the whole contest a sham, causing butthurt and crying all over the Soviet Canuckistan Internets, it will also go down in the advertising history books as the most botched contest Canada's ever seen, as well as the biggest social media disaster by an advertiser so far.

While Nissan Canada Inc. and Capital C, the ad agency responsible for the contest, were jerking each other off in the media for completing what they claimed in the Globe and Mail to be the biggest giveaway of cars in Canadian history, we here at ED spent our time doing some digging and what we've uncovered was...unethical, maybe even criminal, corporate lulz.


This is the story of the aftermath...



July 13th, 2009

On the morning of Monday July 13th, the Hypercube ED link is seeded by ED agents and begins to spread quickly throughout Twitter as it completely overtakes the #hypercube hashtag and clogs the results of anyone using that search term. Slowly, as people begin reading, the reactions start coming in. Many find the article to be funny, while others condemn it as being unnecessarily mean to the top 12 questionable winners profiled. This latter group is mostly made up of a bunch of web 2.0 n00bs who have never encountered Encyclopedia Dramatica before and have thus never been schooled on lulz. Many people questioned the article's allegations against Leanne Pelosi...except the winners, for some reason.

The winners profiled were obviously extremely butthurt, as well as one of the French judges who inadvertently retweeted the link that was such a "waste of time".


   
 
Hypercubists, have you recieved that shit from @Chaogirl? What a waste of time. [ED.com/Hypercube] #hypercube
 

 
 

—@sgrandmaison via Twitter


   
 
@sgrandmaison a waste of time and lame. oh pathetic too. :) #hypercube
 

 
 

@tswizz via Twitter


   
 
@lw81 The problem is the person who wrote it is obsessive compulsive, does not work, and is blaming their failure on all of us #thehypercube
 

 
 

@sandbarmark via Twitter

Other winners took it in stride.


   
 
@Chaogirl Why am I not a questionable winner? Have you seen my canvas?!! haha!
 

 
 

—@strych9 via Twitter


   
 
just read the anti #thehypercube site. this is so hilarious, wow. i am glad i made the top 12 questionable winners!! woo hoo!
 

 
 

@chrismusina via Twitter

We thought it was pretty funny too.

More savvy Twitter users got angry at Nissan's unethical practices and retweeted the link like crazy, using slogans such as "social media goes both ways", while others just got...angry.


   
 
who wr0te this about #hypercube winners? [ED.com/Hypercube] - stinks of a sore loser - dude, get a life, a job, a loan & buy urself a car
 

 
 

—@rado001 via Twitter


   
 
@rado001 no idea who wrote it. but its lame and doesn't warrant anymore attention. its sad really. #hypercube
 

 
 

@tswizz via Twitter

Angie Kramer, aka @thehypercube instructs her minions to report spam accounts to Twitter stating that slander and defamation are unacceptable. Angie Kramer doesn't know the difference between slander and libel.


   
 
Please report @spam and abusive accounts to [Twitter link]. Slander and defamation are not acceptable.
 

 
 

—@thehypercube via Twitter


   
 
Please report unethical contest activity to the competition bureau of Canada #hypercube [competition bureau link]
 

 
 

—@tnsgames via Twitter

By the end of day one, the link starts spreading to forums. People are talking...well, everyone but Nissan and Cap C.

July 14th, 2009

More retweeting of the article link. Some people questioned Angie Kramer directly about the supposed "surprise" for contest participants as well as the allegations in the article and they got no response.


   
 
@thehypercube when do participants get their "thank you" prize? if its money off a cube may be useless 4me, just tried to get a car & was denied
 

 
 

—@rinnaMP via Twitter


   
 
@thehypercube but I'd still like to know what is in store & when, be nice to be thanked 4 our efforts
 

 
 

—@rinnaMP via Twitter

ED article is criticized for being "petty and weak", while others hail it. Either way, estimates peg the article as being retweeted once every half hour.

One Tweetard REALLY thinks outside the cube.


   
 
@D_hock @kevrichard #thehypercube "take down" reads as very naive and cynical view of a pretty standard contest. Seems petty and weak.
 

 
 

—@smack416 via Twitter


   
 
@Lockstep Did you hear about the Hypercube nastiness Nissan got itself into? [ED.com/Hypercube link] (sifting thru the writing is needed)
 

 
 

—@Adam_Toy via Twitter


   
 
@saintjohnshawn just read your link re: #thehypercube contest. ([ED link @thehypercube]) Epic fail Nissan...epic fail...
 

 
 

—@MarissaLucia via Twitter


   
 
Thought I was ripped off because I didn't win a Nissan Cube? This should make you feel better. [ED.com/Hypercube link]
 

 
 

—@willeagle via Twitter


   
 
what do you guys make of this? RT @Taggio Nissan HyperCube contest uncovered [ED.com/Hypercube link]...total bullshit.
 

 
 

—@luckymeow via Twitter

July 15th, 2009

One previous loser suddenly posts on Twitter that one of the winners declined their prize and he was chosen as the "51st winner" and would be receiving one of the new blue Cubes. No one knows who declined their prize or why and Nissan or Capital C aren't telling. People wonder, though.

Lucky #51
No answers, only more questions.
   
 

@thehypercube Any idea who declined their FREE CUBE??? #thehypercube
 


 
 

—@lw81 via Twitter

   
 

@thehypercube who declined if you don't mind me asking?
 


 
 

—@4bit4 via Twitter

   
 

how did someone else win a cube?
 


 
 

—@kurchenko via Twitter

   
 

@kurchenko I sure wouldn't decline. I asked who it was but no one has said anything. The site hasn't been updated either.
 


 
 

—@4bit4 via Twitter

   
 

@4bit4 hm this is all very interesting. perhaps mr. California?
 


 
 

—@kurchenko via Twitter

   
 

@kurchenko @4bit4 Maybe couldn't afford insurance for cube, or criminal record, or fear of contest retaliation, or principles?
 


 
 

—qubicmx via Twitter

At the same time, people are still angry and questioning the allegations but are still getting no response from Angie Kramer, Nissan or Capital C.


   
 
@thehypercube vacation is in the fall, off to italy. i was thinking about smashing up some cubes.
 

 
 

—@fivebythree via Twitter


   
 
its funny how 'winners' are still losers
 

 
 

—@fivebythree via Twitter

Then it would appear that some sort of small scale class war erupted between the winners of the 50 Cubes and apparent leader of the loser Rebellion, Sunny Crittenden. Many of the winners are simply up in arms over this here ED article and are accusing her of writing said article.

Sunny comes out, not only defending herself but accusing the winrars of creating a secret facebook group that was planning to bring legal action against ED. But for whatever reason this never came to fruition and the group no longer exists.

However, she is quick to remind them that since ED is riddled with user-generated content, there's no telling who's to blame, meaning somewhere there's an uncreative Canadian masturbating inside his or her Cube, plotting some new form of revenge...


   
 
@mackb1991 Amen to that. I didn't care about Nissan before this contest and I certainly don't care about them after.
 

 
 

—@SunnyCrittenden via Twitter

Then came a whole lot of people on Twitter retweeting the ED link and proclaiming the Hypercube contest an epic marketing fail, once and for all.


   
 
RT @mackb1991: @4bit4 RE: The ED (the judges friends allegations are interesting) that's what ticks me off most. conflict of interest?
 

 
 

—@lw81 via Twitter


   
 
@4bit4 The ED article didn't require personal attacks on winners, but the judge's friends allegations are interesting. Not surprising though
 

 
 

—@mackb1991 via Twitter


   
 
@4bit4 Still no community site, still no cars for a lot of people. That's the interesting part for me. Momentum is being lost in a big way.
 

 
 

—@mackb1991 via Twitter


   
 
@lw81 Disappointing to say the least, however with a big agency involved, I can't say I'm surprised. Nissan's contesnt and now issue
 

 
 

—@mackb1991 via Twitter


   
 
@lw81 Lack of integrity from many parties in this whole fiasco. K, done ranting. HC took enough of my life already.
 

 
 

—@mackb1991 via Twitter


   
 
Jumping onto the Hypercube bandwagon but great read: [ED.com/Hypercube link] How NOT to market using social media. Way to fail Nissan & Capital C
 

 
 

—@ejbrooks via Twitter


   
 
(all anecdotal) #hypercube sentiment during the campaign? 100% positive; #hypercube sentiment after the campign? 100% negative.
 

 
 

—@malcolmbastien via Twitter


   
 
Dear Cap C, you're doing it really, really wrong. Who took their eyes off the road? [ED.com/Hypercube link]
 

 
 

—@TDotOpenLetter via Twitter


   
 
@mjryuck Wow! I just did a Twitter search on the Hypercube campaign. Not much positive stuff there. Yikes!
 

 
 

—@AndykShortt via Twitter

As of the end of day 3, there had still been no word from Nissan or Capital C.

July 16th, 2009

While the spread of the article's link via Twitter had slowed significantly, it had been spreading in other ways and there were still plenty of lulz to be had.

Earlier in the morning, a few people had tweeted this article by Craig Ritchie that hailed Nissan's Hypercube campaign as "raising the bar" as far as using social media for advertising purposes. Within minutes of the article being posted, someone posted the ED article link in the comments section.

Later on in the morning, our beloved Tayfife posted a different version of that same article, presumably the original version, that had been put up the day before. Same copy, more images and a lot more comments, most of which were calling Nissan to task about the allegations in the ED article and basically saying that the Hypercube campaign was an utter disaster. The original author of the piece, of course, defended his stance, which is only natural when he's yet another one of these fucking people on Twitter claiming to be a web strategist focusing on social media like over 9000 others.

As people posted comments on that article, the ED link began to slowly spread again under the #hypercube and #thehypercube hashtags and the snark began to build.


   
 
How does it feel to be a mobile billboard for such an ethically dubious and possibly criminal contest, @photojunkie? #thehypercube
 

 
 

—@petermansbridg via Twitter


   
 
How does #thehypercube make me feel asks, @BeCircle. I feel ashamed of a new generation of creatives so quick to dance behind the piper.
 

 
 

—@petermansbridg via Twitter


   
 
#thehypercube exploited the networked "creative class". It is only fitting that the underbelly of that network (ED) bites back.
 

 
 

—@petermansbridg via Twitter


   
 
Tired of hearing about the "genius" of #thehypercube. Don't buy it. @petermansbridg is obviously not a fan either. (Sorry, winnners.)
 

 
 

—@TheGATE via Twitter


   
 
Every time I see a Nissan Cube, I have the sudden urge to drive my car straight into it. One day, one day....
 

 
 

—@Endbuster via Twitter

Something else, which we only noticed on Day Four, was that people were now leaving comments for Tony Chapman, Canada's most vocal ad douche, via the YouTube video we embedded on the original Hypercube page. Keep up the good work, guys! The funny part is though, that that video probably wasn't even his douchiest, there's a whole channel of them! Here's another gem:

   
 
...when a David can take down a Goliath brand...
 

 
 

—Tony Chapman, Chief Ejaculator of Capital C Communications

By the afternoon, a new rumour had come to the surface, could there be any truth to this? Thus far there has been no announcement from Nissan or Capital C, but we're getting used to that at this point.


   
 
hrd through the grapevine that there are now 2 #thehypercube contestants that have turned down their cars. Winners list 2 B reshuffled.
 

 
 

—@tkmadison (who has been mysteriously banned) via Twitter

What you say?

But alas! In the late afternoon there was an announcement from Capital C by way of @thehypercube(which no longer exists)! Could it be? Could it be one of any of the things we'd like them to address? Of course not.


   
 
http://cubecommunity.ca/ sign up for the mailing list for updates & be the first to know when the site launches.
 

 
 

—@thehypercube via Twitter

Oh and in case you were wondering, our buddy Rafe is still an idiot who had a previous tie to a judge and won his Cube unethically.


   
 
@tswizz I heard Nissan is selling way more cubes in Canada then expected... controversy has a tendency to do that #hypercube #thehypercube
 

 
 

—@RafeMusic via Twitter


   
 
@RafeMusic I don't think ppl buying the cubes have any idea about the contest controversy. It's off their radar. #hypercube #thehypercube
 

 
 

—@qubicmx via Twitter


   
 
@RafeMusic Just like some Nissan sales ppl had no idea the contest existed. #hypercube #thehypercube
 

 
 

—@qubicmx via Twitter

Oh that's right! We forgot! This contest was so botched from the very beginning that most Nissan dealerships had no idea it was even happening. Thanks for the reminder, Qubicmx!

Awww. :(
$hypercube

We weren't sure what this tweet from Cube winner @BeCircle meant when we first read it, but rumour has it that our little Hypercube article got some mainstream press today or yesterday by way of The Globe and Mail. We scoured today's Globe and Mail but couldn't find the rumoured mention and there's nothing on their website, so this may prove to just be a rumour. But if it is, what did @BeCircle mean? Hmmm.


   
 
I question general media literacy when Encyclopedia Dramatica is used as a source. In their own words "don't take anything here seriously".
 

 
 

—@BeCircle via Twitter

July 17th, 2009

We don't see a Promo Award in Capital C's future.


Are you all ready for a shocker? No word from Nissan Canada Inc. or Capital C on any of the allegations in our article on Day Five either! However, there was a significant development on Friday and it's that Cap C's colleagues at AdRANTS.com posted a link to ED's article under the title "Levi's Goes Forth, Toilet Taunts, Nissan Fails, Paddy Power Sexifies". AdRANTS.com, by the way, is read by just about every single person in the North American ad industry and beyond. Oh and they put it in Friday's newsletter too. Let's hope other media outlets follow suit and expose the unethical bullshit that was all things Hypercube.


In other news, on Friday our good buddy Dirtbar Mark drove his Cube off the lot and proceeded to tell everyone on Twitter that because of a promise he made himself and co-workers, he'd be quitting smoking on the same day. As with all his other undertakings involving the Cube and this contest, we're sure he'll fail at this too.


While retweeting of the ED Hypercube article slowed to a trickle by Day Five, there were still a few tweets worth mentioning, like @PeterMansbridg trolling our favourite arts & crafter, Telma Costa Patmore:

Billboards, eh?
Still confused.

I guess the Hypercube campaign wasn't as successful as Nissan had hoped it would be since, according to one Twitter user, they're putting up billboards in Toronto.

And finally, there still seems to be some confusion about that 51st Cube that was awarded on Day Three. We're not alone when we say that we'd really like Nissan or Cap C to clear things up and until they do, we'll be here, waiting...




July 20th & 21st, 2009

We thought that all was quiet on the Northern front until the evening of Monday, July 20th when @thehypercube, aka Angie Kramer, made an announcement congratulating someone named Natasha Thirsk on being their newest Cube winner. Immediately people wondered, "who is Natasha Thirsk?" as well as "why is Nissan still giving away Cubes?" and "what did she do to get one?"

A 52nd winner?

Natasha Thirsk is none other than "@Catlow_", a musician from BC. Does the name sound familiar at all? Maybe that's because on Day One, she went gonzo on @thehypercube, demanding answers to the allegations in our original ED article on the Hypercube contest.

Magically, all of the posts she made calling out @thehypercube disappeared, leaving many wondering if she got the car to shut her up, if another mystery person declined their prize or both. We suspect both.

Unfortunately for Nissan, Capital C and Catlow herself, her original posts are still available under the #thehypercube hashtag, so we capped them for posterity:

What a difference a week makes:
Monday, July 20th: Catlow changes her tune.

The second thing to happen on Days Eight and Nine, besides a few flames, is that ED's own TNS_Games tweeted:


   
 
It's been over a week and still no comments by Cap C or Nissan regarding the unethical practices of the #hypercube contest
 

 
 

—@tnsgames

To which @thehypercube, aka Angie Kramer replied:


   
 
why don't you try contacting Nissan directly. They can answer all your questions and always have been able to.
 

 
 

—@thehypercube

Now if you'll recall, someone did contact Nissan and did ask them directly, and the cuntastic Catherine Uhlig Green gave them the run around with a generic, meaningless answer.

So this was TNS's response:


   
 
first. We tried contacting Nissan and Catherine Green's response was to blow off the questions. #hypercube
 

 
 

—@tnsgames

   
 
second, isn't this a social media campaign? Why not be open about it? Or is there something to hide from the public?
 

 
 

—@tnsgames

   
 
third, as the official voice of this contest, why can't you respond? #hypercube
 

 
 

—@tnsgames

So what did Angie say to that? Did she have some witty retort for our dear TNS? Did she have any answers, maybe a snappy comeback? No, she did what most people do when they've bitten off more than they can chew, she changed the fucking subject in an effort to flood the #thehypercube hashtag with pro-Hypercube comments!


   
 
We are long overdue for a QotD: What is your ideal vacation?
 

 
 

—@thehypercube, aka Angie Kramer, chickenshit


Could this trainwreck get any worse? I guess we'll all have to wait & see!

July 29th, 2009

Over a month after the contest had ended and over two weeks after our lovely little article on the Hypercube contest went live, Nissan finally sent a defensive e-mail out to all the contestants regarding the accusations that had been flying all over the internet. Like everything else Nissan and Capital C had done up to this point, it was too little too late.

from	Nissan Canada Inc. <[email protected]>
reply-to	"Nissan Canada Inc." <[email protected]>
to	[REDACTED]
date	Wed, Jul 29, 2009
subject	 Hypercube finalists: a word from Nissan

First off, a big thanks to all of you for being a part of the Hypercube campaign. This was a groundbreaking campaign, and validates the important role that social media and communities play in modern communication.  We've learned a lot so far and that learning continues.

One of the most exciting aspects of the social media experience has been its ability to generate and maintain enthusiastic dialogue among members of the community.  We were constantly amazed at the passion and commitment displayed by community members, and the conversations that were established and maintained.
 
As part of the continuing dialogue, a number of questions have surfaced.  We'd like to take this opportunity to clarify a few key items.
 
Judging Criteria
Hypercube was always presented as a campaign that would ultimately be judged. As with any initiative where judging is involved, there needs to be room for interpretation. We stressed throughout the campaign that there were six equally weighted categories - uniqueness, creativity, personality, enthusiasm, survey responses, and peer voting results. There was no single (or group) of criteria which would determine success - in the end it was a combination of scores that identified the top 50 campaigns.
 
Judging Process
Campaign judges were selected based on their own elements of uniqueness and creativity in their own careers. We knew there would be cases where judges had interacted with contestants and asked our judges to identify any situation which could be perceived as a conflict of interest.  Any judges that could not fairly score a contestant due to past interactions were required to abstain from judging that contestant. The remaining scores from the other judges were then averaged and used as the missing score.

 
Rules
The official rules, which were posted in late February, remained consistent throughout the campaign, without any changes. There were suggestions on what could help get people noticed and this was factored into the scoring but this was not a rule change.
There have been a small number of cases identified by your comments that indicate a previous association existed between a judge and subsequent winners.  Of these, all but one were disclosed and addressed prior to judging.  The last was brought to our attention after the announcement of the cube winners. We have reviewed all the results on an individual basis (going so far as to remove the score of the one judge with the undisclosed association) and can say that the results are fair and accurate, and continue to reflect the top ranked campaigns.


Alternate Winners
Finalists were ranked and the top 50 were awarded cubes. Unfortunately, two winners were unable to accept their prizes for various reasons, and as a result two new winners were selected. The alternative winners were the next highest ranked Hypercubists on the final list. 


Thanks
Several Hypercubists have asked us if we can provide them with some sort of discount on Nissan vehicles. We are working on something for everyone who posted an audition canvas. I'll be upfront in saying that if you are nowhere near being able to afford a new vehicle, its not going to be enough to get you there, but hopefully if you are close, it will help.  Stay tuned, an e-mail will go out the first week in August. We knew when we embarked upon this initiative that we were entering unchartered territory, and as one community commentator pointed out - social media is like the wild wild west.  Unlike traditional media campaigns, the dialogue is not one-way.  At the end of the day, this has meant we've had to take a few knocks, but that's what learning is all about

Jeff Parent
Vice President, Sales and Marketing 
Nissan Canada Inc.

Translation:

First off, a big "Fuck You" to all you losers because we used you and ditched you, but at least we’re writing you a defensive e-mail over a month after the contest ended. This was a "run into the ground" campaign that validates that we still have no idea what social media is, nor how to use it, so please stop sending us links to "jar squatter".

It’s exciting that social media generates, well social media. We never considered that would happen. We’re hoping the 10 winners who are still posting on Twitter can step it up because all that negativity is starting to look bad.

Since the winners just aren’t loud enough and @thehypercube has all but disappeared, we have to send this e-mail out to try and get everyone to stop ripping on us. As we did when we pre-selected the winners, we’re going to forget that you’re not all n00bs and pretend that if we don’t answer any of your questions and try and talk all smart-like that you’ll believe us.


Judging Criteria We always said this contest would be judged. Here are the categories that we told you the judges would use when evaluating the contestants: uniqueness, creativity, personality, enthusiasm, survey responses, and peer voting results. There was no one category that would determine success, however some winners were exempt from scoring anything in some categories and still won because we said so, so STFU.


Judging Process We’re throwing the word "careers" in here to pretend it has been thrown around since the beginning. Also pretend we told you how judges having pre-existing relationships with contestants would be handled. And since all the judges hung out and scored this shit together, removing that judge’s score will make no difference.


Rules HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHfuckyouintheassHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH etc . . . One judge neglected to tell us she had been fucking a contestant. We thought that the judge not telling was okay since it fits with the overall lack of ethics we’re trying to establish in this contest. If you wanted to win, you should have fucked a judge too. I hear Greig Nori is pretty hard up these days.


Alternate Winners Some winners didn’t get their prizes. We’re not telling you who or why, but we let some other people have their prizes. It might have something to do with the ED article. If we wait long enough before we talk about it, maybe no one will notice.


Thanks Just in case you didn’t buy into this crap, here’s a discount on our shitty cars. Yeah, you could walk into the dealership and get a better discount by talking with a sales guy, but once again, we're going to continue our insistence that you’re all complete idiots and expect you to lick our ass for this handful of shit we’re throwing at you. As Tony “Douchebag” Chapman pointed out – social media is like the wild wild west. he dialogue is not one way, but we’re trying really hard to make it that way. We’ll admit we got our ass handed to us, but this is supposed to be a learning experience. This e-mail is proof positive that we haven’t learned jack shit. That means you need to learn that we’re the big company and you need to fuck off and let us do what we want.


Jeff Parent

Vice President, Cock and Balls

Nissan Canada Inc.



   
 
Email from nissan sorry #hypercube I think campaign was great but the saying "too little too late" comes to mind #FAIL #nissan #thehypercube
 

 
 

—@russellsmith21 via Twitter


   
 
I think the letter from Nissan is complete bullshit. #thehypercube
 

 
 

—@lifeofjames via Twitter


   
 
@Merlin RPM All of the hypercube contest winners get a small 'hypercube' decal on their cars so that people can tell us apart. #thehypercube
 

 
 

—@sandbarmark explaining his special sticker to someone on Twitter


August 6th, 2009

Marketing magazine, Canada's #1 trade publication for the advertising industry does an article on the Hypercube contest and more or less uses it as a cautionary tale, linking the Hypercube ED article smack dab in the fucking middle.


   
 
In mid-July, a long post went up on the wiki-style muckraking website EncyclopediaDramatica.com accusing Nissan and Capital C of a variety of ethical lapses in the running of the Hypercube contest. Given that the arguments made in the Encyclopedia Dramatica post features more circumstantial evidence and crude language than hard facts—and isn’t even backed up by an author’s byline—the post didn’t exactly meet the generally accepted definition of a reliable source. Nissan and Capital C might have reasonably expected it to create only a small ripple.


But one particular accusation proved to have more than just a little grain of truth—the fact that a handful of Cube winners appeared to have links to the judging panel. Judge Leanne Pelosi in particular has connections to at least three winners, one of whom, Jeff Keenan, was alleged by Encyclopedia Dramatica to be her boyfriend.

 


 
 

The article is of course spread across Twitter for several days.

Sunny Crittenden, who was quoted in the article, had more to say on the topic.


   
 
CubeCommunity.ca is going to launch (eventually) and it’s going to be a whole new thing. I’m no psychic or anything, but the future I see with this is not a positive one and it’s only going to be the final nails in the Hypercube campaign’s coffin. At one end of the spectrum, you’ll have people tweeting or blogging about what mouth-breathers the “winners” are and at the other end of the spectrum you’ve got the wrath of Anonymous and DDoS attacks. The reaction to CubeCommunity.ca is going to fall somewhere within that spectrum and for that reason, if I were Nissan, I wouldn’t even launch it. As I said earlier, I’d cut my losses and start over with a different demographic. They failed with this one. But that’s just me. And they’re not prone to listening to me, so I guess I’ll sit back and *facepalm* with the rest of my “generation” as they flounder some more.
 

 
 

—Rebellion Leader, Sunny Crittenden


August 7th, 2009

from	 Nissan Canada Inc. <[email protected]>
reply-to	 "Nissan Canada Inc." <[email protected]>
to	 [REDACTED]
date	 Fri, Aug 7, 2009 at 8:00 PM
subject	 Nissan Canada Vehicle Purchase Program for Hypercubists

Nissan Canada Vehicle Purchase Program for Hypercubists
 
In my e-mail last week I had mentioned that in response to several requests, we will be offering a discount on Nissan vehicles to everyone who posted an audition canvas in our hypercube contest.  I am pleased to announce the details of this program. 
 
Our Hypercube VPP program provides you with ‘pre-negotiated pricing’.  Please keep in mind that any incentives that we are currently offering on Nissan vehicles will be IN ADDITION to the VPP Program (check nissan.ca for current incentives), also VPP prices do not include any taxes.
 
The Program
 
How much of a discount will you get?  It will be different for each vehicle, but here are some examples:
 
 	                                                            MSRP	Hypercube VPP
2009 cube 1.8 S with manual transmission (D5RG59 AA00)	        $18423 + tax	$17882 + tax
2009 cube 1.8 SL CVT with technology package (D5SG19 CC00)	$22923 + tax	$22115 + tax
2009 Versa Hatch  1.8 S with manual transmission (B5LG59 AA00)	$15423 + tax	$14983 + tax
2009 Versa Hatch 1.8 SL with CVT (B5UG19 AE00)	$19623 + tax	$18944 + tax
 
Note:  all prices are estimates and do not take into account any eligible programs.  Taxes (other than A/C tax) and levies (i.e. battery disposal, tire tax, Green levies, PST, GST etc) have not been included. 
                                                    
The Process
If you are interested, send an e-mail to Charles Richer ([email protected]).  He will provide you with a VPP claim number.  Visit a participating Nissan Dealer, identify yourself as a VPP customer, provide the VPP Claim Number and present your driver’s license to the Sales Manager at the dealership.  The dealership will then work with you to help select your vehicle and calculate your purchase price.   Please note, you need to request your VPP number no later than September 11, 2009 and your sales contract must be signed no later than September 30, 2009.

The Answers
Q. I want to know how much the car I want will cost. How can I get a price quote?
A. VPP vehicle pricing can be obtained only through a participating Nissan or Infiniti dealership.  Please present your VPP number upfront.

Q. Which vehicles are eligible for the Hypercube VPP?
A. All 2009 Nissan and Infiniti vehicles with the following exceptions:  Nissan 370Z convertible, Nissan GT-R and Infiniti G37 Convertible. 

Q. How can I find out what my VPP discount will be?
A. VPP discounts are determined by Nissan Canada Inc. and will change from time to time. For full pricing information, you must visit a participating Nissan or Infiniti dealership.

Q. What if I want to purchase accessories? Will I get a discount?
A. There is no pre-negotiated VPP price for dealer-installed accessories. Prices for accessories are negotiable between you and the dealership.

Q. How can I find out if incentives are being offered on the car I'm interested in?
A. For information on current incentives, please visit http://www.nissan.ca/buying/specialoffers/en/default.aspx or http://www.nissan.ca/buying/specialoffers/fr/default.aspx Nissan and Infiniti dealers will also be able to provide current incentive information.

Q. Can the value of my trade-in be used to further reduce my purchase price?
A. No. The value of a trade-in can be used to pay for your vehicle purchase, but it cannot be used to determine your purchase price. Your trade-in must be handled as a transaction separate from the VPP price calculation.

Q. How do I finance a vehicle if I purchase or lease through the VPP?
A. You can work with the dealership to obtain financing through Nissan Canada Finance or you can obtain financing on your own through a bank or credit union. If you choose to finance through the dealership, normal credit standards apply.

Q. Can I buy a used car through the VPP?
A. No. Only unregistered new and Nissan Canada demo vehicles are eligible.

Q. What if I lose my Claim ID Number or have additional questions?
A. Please contact Charles Richer [email protected]
 
THE FINE PRINT:
 
• Vehicle MUST be registered in the Participant’s name as it was entered in the hypercube contest
• Limit one vehicle per hypercube contestant
• VPP number must be requested no later than September 11, 2009
• Sales contract must be signed no later than September 30, 2009
• Please note that only residents of Canada, and Nissan & Infiniti dealers within Canada, are eligible to participate in the VPP.
• Nissan Canada Inc. reserves the right to modify or discontinue the Vehicle Purchase Program at any time without notice.
 
Jeff Parent
Vice President, Sales and Marketing 
Nissan Canada Inc.

Oh Jeff how we all missed you for the last week or so. We were all waiting with bated breath to hear about how much you respect the contestants you bent over and fucked out of a car (plz post pics on 4chan).

As part of web 2.0 culture, we appreciate numbers because we took grade 6 math. It’s nice to know that if losers were willing to spend 23 grand on one of your shitboxes that you would graciously offer them a 3.5% discount whereas if they only spend 15k you’d only give them a 2.5% discount you cheap jew bastards. You realize ED’s collective dead grandfather could negotiate a better deal than that at a car dealership, right? Of course you do. You don’t want to actually give anyone any kind of deal, you just want to make a gesture that hopefully someone will buy as legitimate. And just in case anyone actually wants this cheap ass discount, the offer expires in a month.

Honda, if you’re reading this, give anyone who lost in this contest a real discount and 6 months to get it and you’ll steal all the thunder Nissan has left from this campaign.

Fine Print If you live in California, you can win the contest, but you wouldn’t be eligible for the discount if you didn’t win. If too many people try to take advantage of this discount in the month we’ve given, we can cancel the promotion if we want to.

God Jeff, how do you still have a job?

August 8th

Sand Vagina Mark and Blake Crittenden, aka 4bit4 have a pissing contest via Twitter about Mark's eligibility in the contest due to the rule about receiving compensation for writing about cars which results in these two blog posts by each of them:


   
 
Now the same people who found these irregularities in judging and selection seem to have nothing better to do but continue to complain and call attention to issues that do not exist. Many of them are passing off statements as fact where the complete opposite is true. They have also accused Nissan and Capital C with not doing their homework and digging deeper without doing that themselves.
 

 
 

—Mark A. Stevenson


   
 
So Mark, take some accountability for what you said and what you did and be honest with the rest of us. My horrible crime was to ask a question and not directly to you. You're a public social media representative now and if you're concerned with what people are saying about you, then you should actually set the record straight. Make a post declaring that you've never received any monetary or other compensation for writing about cars (which is what he finally said when I finally asked him directly), rather than make a post where you complain about people not knowing the truth.
 

 
 

— Blake Crittenden

August 11th

A new article came out on Social Media Wave called "Social Media or Marketing blunder in HyperCube campaign?" which calls out the contest as a failure. Nissan can't be pleased as this article spread across their precious #thehypercube hashtag on Twitter.


   
 
The inside scoop on the Nissan campaign for their Hyper Cube vehicle launch was that it was an initial hit. Subsequently, it has turned 180 degrees and is being touted in our social media circles as an unmitigated disaster as covered by Marketer News this week.
 

 
 

—Social Media Wave

Gallery of Nissan Cube Fail About missing Pics
[Collapse GalleryExpand Gallery]

August 19th

Well I’m impressed. Nissan Canada Inc. and Capital C managed to launch their cube winner community web site, CubeCommunity.ca, in just under two months after the winners were announced. I actually lost $50 on a bet because I thought it wouldn’t happen until Christmas. It was Canadian money though, so who gives a fuck?

According to Cubeless.ca, even after 2 months, 7 winners have not made a single blog post and 8 winners have only made 1 blog post. Despite the contest rules which state that each winner is responsible for writing 2 blog posts a month, not a whole lot of them seem to give a shit. What do you expect though? When they did not participate in a social media contest and still won a car, why would they start getting in the spirit now? After a quick scan of how many posts have comments and the grand total of 4 topics in their forum, it’s plain to see that this site is just about as lonely as an anorexic on Pancake Tuesday.

It seems even Nissan and Capital C don’t want much to do with the site. They were so embarrassed by the content that they didn’t even promote the launch. Not only did they neglect to post about it on Twitter, but their official @thehypercube twitter account has completely stopped posting at all. Don’t take our word for it though, here’s a taste of the 1337 blogging skills of Rafem . This is his entire CubeCommunity blog post from July 17th. Hard to believe that the show disBand shit stomped his dreams of being an international rock star.

Cube Haters Poem

Has the twice a month blogging thing started yet?
Does anyone know?My cube rocks
It rocks my socks
It looks so fly
When I drive by
Shiny new
in Aqua blue
the girls I'll meet
in my back seat
Roomy on the insided, tinted windows facing out
The perfect place, to just make out!
So haters cry, call me a noob,
But I can't hear them in my cube.

rafem – voice of the oppressed

September 8th

Hypercube contest winner Greg Sczebel is so looking forward to getting rid of his Nissan cube that he’s started his own social media contest, in which the prize will be, you guessed it, his Nissan cube. WinGregsCar.com is a contest that runs through June of next year and if you promote his new album enough, you could win the honour of having him drive to your house, play a concert and give you his Nissan cube.

Obviously he didn’t read our article or he would have known that four months was way too long for an on-line social media contest, let alone a year and I’m not even going to get into how long a CD can maintain social media buzz. As long as his girlfriend doesn’t end up winning the car, this’ll still be a million times more successful than the hypercube contest.

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