The Real Loser Of SuperBowl 2012: Online Pawning Startup, Pawngo

What does a Denver-based online pawning startup have to do with the Superbowl? Well, not much of anything which is what made Pawngo’s Boston-bashing publicity stunt just as strange as it was classless. In one of the worst marketing stunts in startup history, Pawngo dropped 900 pounds of Butterfinger candy bars in Boston ‘s Copley Square Tuesday with a gift tag in the form of a large placard that read, “Thank you Wes Welker.” The stunt was meant to mock Patriots receiver Wes Welker for dropping a key pass in Sunday’s big game, a move now being referred to as “The Drop.”

To add insult to insult, Pawngo’s official Twitter account unabashedly taunted Patriots’ fans about their candy-surprise:
https://twitter.com/Pawngo/status/166998902787153920″ data-datetime=”2012-02-07T21:36:55+00:00 If you’ve event been to Boston or met anyone from Boston, you can guess how well Patriots’ fans took Pawngo’s childish stunt. In addition to a $1000 littering fine, Boston press railed the startup;  BostonIno.com’s headline read “F*ck Pawngo” — Butterfinger Stunt Enrages New England, Company Fined $1000 For Illegal Dumping. Pawngo’s Twitter account lit up with hundreds of angry messages from enraged fans. And Groupon, the daily deal company whose founders Eric Lefkofsky and Brad Keywell invested $2.3M in Pawngo through their investment group LightBank last summer, also recieved heat from angry fans who threatened to pull their business.
https://twitter.com/xylem/status/166960406030598144″ data-datetime=”2012-02-07T19:03:57+00:00
https://twitter.com/brian_h_smith/status/167313822498033664″ data-datetime=”2012-02-08T18:28:18+00:00
https://twitter.com/tmrainville/status/167328877142736897″ data-datetime=”2012-02-08T19:28:07+00:00
https://twitter.com/MassholeSports/status/167102480310730752″ data-datetime=”2012-02-08T04:28:30+00:00   As an online startup without any geographic boundaries to your potential customer base, I have no idea why  you would go so far out of your way to alienate and enrage one of the nations most prideful cities. You might be thinking well, they got the press they are clearly desperate for? Right? Yes, but they also sent an entire city running into the arms of their formally unknown Boston-based competitor. After tweeting,  “@Pawngo In Wes Welker we trust! Go Pats!@Pawntique, The New England based Online Pawnshop,” Boston’s own online pawn shop, Pawntique , quickly emerged a city-wide hero. Pawntique received a barrage of support from their local Twitter community, press and Pats’ fans everywhere.
https://twitter.com/pebenr/status/167302401852837889″ data-datetime=”2012-02-08T17:42:55+00:00
https://twitter.com/RyanCanney/status/167256806270308352″ data-datetime=”2012-02-08T14:41:44+00:00     Just a few hours ago, Todd Hills, Pawngo’s CEO & Founder, released a statement apologizing to Boston and Patriots fans noting that they “thought that Boston fans would get a laugh out of it.”

“To All of Boston, Wes Welker and Patriots Fans Across the Nation