GoldenPalace Claims Famous Ukulele

These guys are brilliant. This is just another high-profile marketing move in a long line of seemingly ridiculous but entirely intelligent decisions. GoldenPalace.com is an online casino that operates off an Aboriginal reserve just outside of Montreal. Some years ago they launched themselves upon an unsuspecting market by showcasing temporary tattoos of "www.goldenpalace.com" across the backs of famous boxers (like Bernard Hopkins) while they were in the ring. While costing a mere pittance compared to the expense of developing a commercial and paying for air-time, they were able to have their address continually visible (until the ink smudged) throughout high-profile fights. The buzz created by this approach led to more aggressive attempts at promotion, like sending a tattooed topless woman out to kiss Jim Furyk during the US Open and having a fake referee slip onto the field during the Super Bowl to rip off his costume and exposing their URL.

The $11,211.11 winning auction bid for a white ukulele, autographed by Warren Buffett, is another in a series of purchases whose value lies not in the items bought, but rather in the publicity generated by the absurdity of it all. The ukulele will join many other items (such as the grilled-cheese sandwich with the image of the Virgin Mary and a pregnancy test used by Britney Spears) in a touring museum show.

One of the advantages of operating an online casino is that this kind of advertising does not cause the potential harm that it would to a more traditional advertiser. While Coke may find themselves faced with a boycott if they were to plaster their logo on a topless model, casinos have no desire to receive a stamp of approval from family-first or religious organizations. In fact, the envelope pushing nature of their campaign most likely appeals to the wild-west mentality that so many gamblers possess.

The greatest success of any of these campaigns lies not with the people who originally witness them, but rather with the media reports and word-of-mouth that comes from such audacious approaches. The very fact that a simple $11 thousand purchase buys articles in the Washington Post and USA Today validates their approach. Hats off to ingenuity.

Online casino wins Warren Buffett ukulele auction [Washington Post]
Show Us Your Tats [Slate]

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