Hornets apologize after pretending to give child PS5 and taking it away off camera
sports.yahoo.com
Unbeknownst to the kid, the Hornets were only pretending to give him a console.

The skit that “missed the mark” occurred in a break in play during the second quarter of Charlotte’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday. The child was brought onto the court with Hugo, the Hornets’ mascot, dressed as Santa Claus. After a letter to Santa requesting a PS5 was read out loud, a cheerleader came out with a bag containing the video game console.

The young fan was visibly overjoyed as he received the pricy gift. However, according to an online acquaintance, he was less happy when the cameras turned off and a Hornets staffer took it away, replacing it with a jersey.

    • CileTheSane@lemmy.caEnglish
      26·
      7 hours ago

      If a PS5 is too expensive to give away, then don’t pretend to give one away.

      I feel like I shouldn’t have to say this.

    • DandomRude@lemmy.worldEnglish
      74·
      11 hours ago

      Compared to the marketing expenses of even very small companies, a PS5 is so ridiculously cheap that these costs are not even worth mentioning.

        • DandomRude@lemmy.worldEnglish
          22·
          7 hours ago

          Sure. But the Hornets aren’t interested in the child, they’re only interested in marketing. The only way I can explain this is that either some employee wanted the PS5 and just took it from the kid or the Hornets’ marketing department thinks that even bad publicity is free publicity. Maybe they intentionally planned for the predictable media coverage on this matter because it also brings attention. If the Hornets wanted to buy this kind of exposure, that paltry $500 wouldn’t even begin to cover it.

    • Maggoty@lemmy.worldEnglish
      91·
      14 hours ago

      The team has revenue in the millions. They’d never have noticed the money. This should be in the dictionary under Penny Wise, Pound Foolish.