The Ocean Marketing Fiasco and the Legendary Career Buster: Dave With a V

Rentaline · #1 12-28-2011, 12:56 AM

Hello all, I'm going to try and piece together the events today the best I can. Prepare your bodies.

Our story begins with a consumer Dave (with a V) wanting some information regarding a shipment he ordered from Ocean Marketing Inc. He exchanged some pretty rough emails with our guy, the man of the hour, Paul Christoforo.

The emails then reached that charming Penny Arcade guy, Gabe. The events can be seen here: http://penny-arcade.com/resources/just-wow1.html

In order to grasp the whole situation, I'm afraid you will have to read all of it.

The article then hit the corners of the internetz and incited some well deserved disgust for our buddy, Paul.

After being disowned by pretty much everyone he claimed to have connections to, Paul decided to change the name of his (misspelled) Twitter account of @OceanMarketting to (mispelled) @OceanStratagy.

Big mistake. Because then one of our random internet goers decided to jump on the thrown out twitter name and use it to promote Indie Devs and Gaming Charities. Both accounts can be seen here: Twitter and Twitter

Kotaku looked for a statement from the company only to find out it was our buddy Paul impersonating Brandon Leidel - CEO, Director of Operations. The real Mr. Leidel didn't have many nice things to say about good ol' Paul in a follow-up statement. Article here: Cut Paul "@OceanMarketting @OceanStratagy" Christoforo a Break—He Might Just Have Roid Rage [Updated]

At some point an apology was written to Dave (With a V) that reads:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul

Hey Dave,

I just wanted to apologize for the way our emails progressed from beginning to end , You caught me on an extremely bad day and I had been dealing with 100’s and hundreds of emails trying to explain the situation to everyone on where the product was and you just pushed me a little too much and I should have just apologized and tried to explain things better. Also I had a really bad day losing a friend to an overdose and the stress of my newborn baby and the Holiday ,missing my family and just stressing on getting product out to everyone and why it was held up in customs wore me out.

I am deeply sorry for any disrespect , aggravation or lack of information on the delivery date. We knew when product was leaving china and we were trying to adhere to a strict deadline but due to port issues and air freight issues. The units are domestic now and awaiting pick up at customs . So we missed the 17th deadline and I apologize for that but it was out of my control and besides me no one else was helping me handle the situation so imagine the weight on my shoulders.

I’m not asking for any sympathy just for some understanding and forgiveness , I’m human just like everyone else and made a mistake. I underestimated you and its cost me a lot of trouble thousands of spam emails , a lot of personal bashing , and internet spam and trouble and just overall stress with my wife and newborn. I ask that you please accept my apology as a peace offering I will refund your money and give you your 2 units/Avengers free of charge please help me to get some of this negativity removed or at least my personal name although its already all over the internet and the calls and emails will not stop but any help will be appreciated especially with penny arcade as Mike and edit his own website I owe him an apology too which I will write next.

[Updated] Ocean Marketing: A Study On How To Destroy Your Reputation With Just A Few Emails - GamerFront | GamerFront

Here's another apology but for PA: Penny Arcade - an update

Now before you get all mopey over the guy, this isn't an isolated incident. Apparently Paul has a history of bad PR: Poor customer service - Nates Network (which has been updated to list his early retirement)

I almost forgot to mention that the Ocean Marketing site itself is riddled with Plagiarism. neineinein comments on PA- Makers of Avenger controllers take money and run.

My take on all this?
I feel sorry for the guy and his family, but he got what was coming to him. My favorite part is when he went from "You got served, *****! I know the mayor of Boston!" to "I underestimated you! Please make it stop!!!!"

oh... and I guess a bunch of memes and stuff came out of this. And Geico is awesome: http://i.imgur.com/r5RCE.png

Spoiler!

Mctron · #2 12-28-2011, 01:14 AM

yeah the guys an idiot so his clients should have canned him ages ago, the controller was invented for a good reason take rage out on ocean marketting not the people behind the avenger controller which has a cause like child's play to make games accessible to those with special needs.

FalseAesop · #3 12-28-2011, 01:15 AM

There are many lessons to be learned here kids.

Don't be a dick.
Don't name drop lest the names be dropped on you.
Do not call down the thunder lest you reap the whirlwind.
Finally, the internet can and will end you.

Rentaline · #4 12-28-2011, 01:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mctron

yeah the guys an idiot so his clients should have canned him ages ago, the controller was invented for a good reason take rage out on ocean marketting not the people behind the avenger controller which has a cause like child's play to make games accessible to those with special needs.

Right. And expect to see a statement from Avenger (the controller guys) soon.

I still love what Mr. Liedel had to say. What this whole incident shows that this guy was no expert at Social Media (which he claimed to be) when he did not expect this outcome.

DextriuX · #5 12-28-2011, 01:30 AM

Quote:

THE WHOLE F*CKIN BEEFALO

Awesomesause.

Quote:

p.p.s. Welcome to the internet, *****. That’s how I roll.

I have found my new signature.

The stress in his personal life doesn't justify his behavior. Aren't you supposed to keep your business and personal lives separate? I know it's easier said than done, but damn. He ****ed up. He deserves the infamy. Also, his typing bothered the hell out of me.