Cadburys "Gorilla" in HMV, Drogheda, monday 22nd of septeber.

CMpunked

Was anyone else at this?

I was, and i was incredibly annoyed afterward.

Firstly, i like HMV, like theyre offers/prices etc etc, but this has really pushed back my confidence with them..



Ok, so im walking through scotch hall and see an advertisment for the gorilla off the cadburys ads, the poster said he was appearing in HMV at half four.
So i get in touch with my sister to bring her kids down, which she thought would be a great suprise.

We made it down about a quarter past 4 and took a wander around the shop and seen NOTHING which might imply that there was anything going on that day. So i went to check the sign again.
Yep, monday the 22nd.

I went back in and seen that there was more of a crowd gathering down at the classical section, which for drogheda, doesnt happen all that much (:p) So i grabbed my nephew, whos birthday it was the saturday and threw him on my shoulders.
Were waiting around still and nothing until about nearly a quarter to 5, when 2 girls in cadburys tee shirts and a suited up english guy telling us that we should all come back in 10 minutes that the drumkit needed to be set up.

The crowd slightly disbanded for about 5 minutes, then people, well i mean teenagers out of all the surrounding secondary schools, started coming back like moths to a flame.

To which the two girls had put up a few posters around and still no sign of a drum kit...


30 minutes later (now a quarter past 5.) With many futile attempts by the students to start mexican waves and the like, the pieces of a very childish drum kit start to emerge.
The suited guy, who in his efforts to keep his crowd keen, explained that the drum kit took a while to set up because "the gorilla doesnt like just anyone touching his kit". Fair enough, at least this guy is funny...

So 15 minutes later, again, and we have what appears to be a drumkit, with one of the promotion girls sitting and looking very bored. (not great if they look bored is it?)
Then there was a little comotion and thank god that the three kids that were down werent in moods! So then we hear that the gorilla was there and people perked up!

so finally, at exactly 5.35 the door opens at the back of the shop and out walks what can only be described as a guy in a monkey suit. (But what else were we to expect?) Oh yeah, The guy in the monkey suit OFF the commercial perhaps??

Instantly about a third of the eager crowd left amidst slight BOOs, which were under some breaths.

So he took to the kit and people tried to look to the good in it, he was going to give them a bash! So we are told that he will play and on comes Phil Collins! and the peoples morale in this monkey drummer has increased, that is, until he starts playing..

This guy must have been a drummer, you could tell by how he was hitting the skins. But it was woeful, you had the two girls and the snazzy suited man clapping their hands singing and trying to get everyone going, which slightly worked.

So the song stops dead about 45 seconds into it, (im guessing this was the length of the ad).
To which people are wanting more, obvious after some, including myself, who were there an hour and a half now.

Then they played the second song, the latest version of the ad, total eclipse of the heart.
Once again, a minute into it and it stopped.

The suited guy then announced that gorilla would be taking a break after one more rendition of phil collins.
To which during his break the girls will be handing out free chocolate and tee shirts!! Happy days! that is how you restore faith in your audience!

So the monkey does it and the crowd rushes for the doors.

The two girls ( to whom i feel extremelly sorry for) have these rucksack bags in hand. FULL of chocolate bars. But of course, as they come forward, the people go in, until they girls are met with hands flying for the bags, pulling out shirts and the candy!

they could not controll it, someone, in an effort to get some choc, pushed through someone and ended up knocking a whole dvd stand, leaving tens of shrek 3's scattered all over the floor, being trampled on by the stampede of teenagers.

I start noticing the man who was standing watch over the whole proceedings ( a different guy to the suited london bloke), who i believe under good authority to be the manager of HMV, telling the girls to wrap it up, and they looked fairly confused i have to say.

So the closed the bags and walked away, along with a lot of the crowd, after them demanding the chocolate, as if they had some right to it. But after that long, they should have been!


Kids couldnt understand and neither could parents, but at least there was solice in the fact that they would get a perfect vantage point of the monkey when he would come to do round two....

Well thats what we thought as the manager the told the crowd that the monkey would not return because of security issues.


These poor kids had waited with their parents for so long and nothing was done for them, even a small youngster around 9 or 10, asked where was the chocolate or the monkey to which the manager quite aggressively and forcefully told the child that it was over and the monkey was gone!?!



I know this has been an extremelly long post, and congradulations if you have made it this far. and im nearly at the end

I just wanted to know, was anyone else at this, and what did they think of it.

I know for one i am very upset with HMV, not so much cadburys, they didnt need to do this show just to promote dairy milk, but they did.

But the manner in which HMV acted was appauling.
It was like they really couldnt care less.

Thats the end of my rant now.
Thanks

Dingatron

Phew that was tough reading....

Sounds like very bad organisation tbh.

miceal

So that makes sense now!

I was in Scotshall on Monday for the second and hopefully last time in my life! I was not impressed about 15€ worth of food from the food court and i was still hungry! :mad::mad:

I was in HMV at about half four when there was group of school kids hanging about in the corner. It looked like it could turn so i left with my mate and then when we where walking to the car park we saw the Cadburys girls walking towards the shop.

It looked badly organised so not surprised the DVD rack went flying!

Biggins

Don't expect to be reading about the HMV farce in the Drogheda Independent.
They know what side their bread is buttered. They suck up to all advertisers so HMV and their joke actions will not even get a sentence in the paper.
Ever notice any trade businesses around town get bad write-ups even though there has been serious bad examples of things gone/done wrong!

HMV - This is not the first time they've made a mess of things!

peejay1986

Found this on Youtube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6C25TDT_DUI

It looks awful! The kit must've cost less than a bar of chocolate. The symbols sound like Saucepans. Its cringe worthy.

Biggins

Ther's no way that that is the real thing suit-wise and and your right, the drum sound terrible (taking into account that its a phone recording) - like a childs play set.