CBS
CNN
Time
On Tuesday, the popular card game company Cards Against Humanity claimed, as part of its holiday promotion, that it purchased land on the United States-Mexico border and “retained a law firm specializing in eminent domain” in order to dissuade Trump from creating a border wall between the two countries. The website cites that “Donald Trump is a preposterous golem who is afraid of Mexicans…[and] wants to build a twenty-billion dollar wall that everyone knows will accomplish nothing.” The promotion -- a $15 holiday pack limited to 150,000 customers -- was sold out this morning.
Cards Against Humanity has previously been known for committing similar acts. For instance, in 2016, it announced the digging of its “Holiday Hole,” which celebrated how “everything in America is going really well,” according to its website. The company did not confirm the location of the land that it claimed it purchased. This, in combination with Cards Against Humanity’s previous stunts, makes the validity of the purchase unlikely.
Discussion Questions:
What are your thoughts on Cards Against Humanity’s purchase? Do you believe that the company should be taking a political stance, and why do you believe that they are doing so? Given the game company’s popularity, what do you think attracts people to these stunts and pranks?
12 comments:
The government's power of eminent domain will inevitably result in this land being taken, and even though the creators of Cards Against Humanity can get the best lawyers and instruct them to use litigation to stall this process, no lawyer would risk fines and sanctions just for a meme. But, it will be funny while it lasts. 9/10 Prank
I think that this is pretty funny to be honest, but petty too. I don't think that the company should refrain from taking a political stance if that is what they wish to do. I'm not surprised the company's doing this because they're always pretty courageous. The act was risky and is probably ineffective overall, but definitely a creative way of defying Trump's plan.
I am impressed at how Cards Against Humanity "pulled off" this publicity stunt. It's a well thought out marketing strategy and the company sure knows how to keep surprising their audience with unexpected ventures. For example, three years ago, they bought an island in Maine called Hawaii 2 just for the meme. Anyways, there's a strong chance that people who are familiar with the game and the company's clear opposition to Trump's policies get attracted to these types of humorous political stunts/pranks because it demonstrates actions are being taken against Trump's wall, despite it being clearly a meme. Like I said, Cards Against Humanity evidently thought this through and effectively used their army of liberal card players to get their name and message across the U.S..
This is great marketing. They knew thought audience would appreciate them taking a political stance, and they were obviously right because their promotion was successful. It doesn't matter if they actually bought the land or not, because their ultimate goal was to sell the holiday package, which they were able to do. It can be risky for a company to take a political stance because they usually want to appeal to a wide market, and by choosing a side they upset about half of their consumers, but in this case, they obviously what the majority of their consumers believe, and took advantage of that information.
I think that they can take a political stance if they wish too because they have the right to do so. It brings a log of attention and lets them express their hate for Trump in a fun way, and like Kaitlin says, its a good way to market although it is risky. Obviously their audience likes it, and helps everyone enjoy the holiday spirit.
I think that although Cards Against Humanity seemingly attempted to increase their popularity by supporting the majority of people and trying to thwart Trump's plans of building a wall at the US-Mexico border, committing this act was not a smart idea because first of all, it would also cause them to lose many fans who are supporters of Trump. Secondly, it brings them into politics, which is never a good idea for a company like Cards Against Humanity, which simply creates fun games for the sake of crude humor. This acquisition could end positively or negatively, but I believe it's more likely that the situation would end badly for the company.
I don't mind companies taking political stances on any issues, but to me, this seemed like just another one of the company's publicity stunts and I would say it is quite successful. Doing such obscure things like digging a hole for no reason catches peoples' eyes and this does too. Through this attention they can direct people to their holiday package to gain a profit. As for it stopping a wall from getting built, it will probably have minimal effects. Cards Against Humanity alone probably won't be able to stop a wall from getting built. If it does come to that, they will probably just be a slight obstacle.
If they actually hold strong political views about Trump and want to try and protest the wall, they can. However, they will not be able to stop its construction if the government decides to build it, which leads me to believe that this is just amazing marketing. I think that for all the talk on their website about how they plan to "save America," they are actually just creating a publicity stunt to 'save their sales' this holiday season. People who are liberal will most likely see this in a positive light and want to support Cards Against Humanity, whereas conservatives will dislike it. No matter what, people will tell others about what Cards Against Humanity is doing, and any publicity is good publicity. In short, I think they will lose the political battle but win big with their sales.
When I first read about this, I found it hilarious and I absolutely loved the idea of it. I think it's great for big companies like these to take a stand. Whether you agree or not, Trump's political views and policies have gone far beyond politics and are instead PERSONALLY attacking minority groups. Therefore, I love that Cards Against Humanity is using its power and platform to even just spread awareness about the issue. While their efforts may not necessarily stop the government from building a wall, by even just receiving media attention for this, they are already making a difference.
We do have to keep in mind, this is Cards Against Humanity. They're known for stuff like this. One Black Friday, they literally sent out bull manure to people who bought something entitled "bullshit." I agree with the people who said that this is just a marketing tactic, much like everything else they've done. It's not like this will prevent the government from building anything on that land, as there are laws that allow government construction so long as the government compensates for property loss.
If the purchase was real, I wouldn't hesitate much before believing it. Their antics are extremely outrageous (and funny) ex the aforementioned manure gag gift and their other actions. The company can and should take a political stance although it seems kind of like selling out and appealing to their mainly liberal fanbase. On the other hand, purchasing this land, although maybe not that important in the grand scheme of things, is symbolic in the sense that they are not scared of going against the president. A major part of their popularity comes from their dark humor and this antic is brilliant as a marketing campaign as well as it fits right in with their image. It is a funny (and not too reckless) purchase that attracts people mainly based on their ability to joke about an unpopular president.
Because its Cards Against Humanity, I don't think their purpose is to actually even try to buy the land but to just show how they feel about the whole wall and Trump thing. They knew they would sell out and use that to show the unpopularity of the wall, they wanted to mock the president and it worked. Their game is dark humor and they knew their audience would jump at the chance, even if it wasn't real, to make fun of Trump's wall.
Post a Comment