The Ridiculously Long Lasting Gum Hates Uwe Boll Too @ JustPressPlay

Thursday.May.08.2008

The Ridiculously Long Lasting Gum Hates Uwe Boll Too

This is one of the weirdest press releases to have hit my inbox. The makers of Stride (you know, the gum that just keeps on going) today issued a press release announcing their support of that online petition to get Uwe Boll to quit. If you remember, Boll made the mistake of publicly saying that he will retire once a million people sign a petition for him to quit making movies.

Right now at StopUweBoll.org, there are less than 260,000 signatures, so gamers have a long way to go if they truly want to stop the Doktor. For some reason, Stride Gum looked at this and said "Schnell!" Because they're giving away free gum to speed up the process.

In an effort to help boost signings, the makers of Stride have put out a special bounty. If the petition reaches the required 1 million signatures by May 14 at 5pm EDT, each signer will receive a digital coupon* for a pack of gum, downloadable on May 23, 2008, a day that could really use some long-lasting refreshment, particularly as it will see the debut of his latest videogame-based film.

So basically they're prepared to give away one million pack of gums for this stunt. I guess those commercials showing their factories shutting down because no one's buying are true? No, of course not. So why are they doing this? What is the motivation of this bizarre involvement?

"Since gamers are one of our most supportive groups, we have been looking for ways to return the favor," said Gary Osifchin, Stride North American Marketing Director. "And what better way is there to get gamers' backs than by helping them rescue their cherished videogames from the clutches of Uwe Boll?"

Questions: are gamers really into Stride? This is something entirely new to me. Is it because gamers always have their hands busy, so they ain't got time to unwrap a new piece of gum, therefore requiring them to rely on a ridiculously long lasting gum to keep their mouth minty fresh?

Joking aside, this is kind of shameless. How many people are going to do this just to get a free pack of gum, regardless of their opinion towards Uwe Boll? Trashing a man's career (regardless of how shitty a career it is) all in the name of promoting a product just doesn't sit right with me. If I was Uwe, I'd find this more insulting than the people who made the petition. But no hard feelings, the gum-makers insist.

"Look, it's nothing personal against the guy. Maybe his non videogame-based films are unbelievable! But we have seen such intense passion for this cause that we couldn't help but get involved," said Osifchin. "Let the signing continue."

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