Marketing? The Real Story Behind Bob Parson’s Elephant-Killing “Safari”

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Why is it that many people prefer to only look at one side of a situation to make their decisions ?

Here is another side of the story that hasn't been told yet:

The Real Story Behind Bob Parson's Elephant-Killing "Safari" [PICS]

It would be interesting to know the demographics of those people who jumped to conclusions about the original story, i.e. are they successful businesspeople? And ditto for those that didn't?

And does this change any opinions about the marketing of the original story?

Or, and this is conspiracy speaking, is it possible that the original story was put out so that GoDaddy would end up looking better than their competitors? I like this one the best as everyone likes a good conspiracy .

Marvin
#main internet marketing discussion forum #“safari” #bob #elephantkilling #parson’s #parson’s #real #story
  • I don't dispute that elephants cause havoc for poor farmers in Zimbabwe. I realize killing one bull elephant would scare the herd off so crops aren't destroyed further. And that one bull elephant can provide a LOT of food for the people.

    BUT -- I think video-taping the villagers hacking up the elephant while wearing bright orange GoDaddy hats (and then posting it to YouTube) was in poor taste.

    Imagine if Bill Gates shot video-tape spoon-feeding starving children in Africa... but first made sure to give them Microsoft tshirts... and then video taped and uploaded it to Youtube. That would be over the top ick. Same concept. Blech.

    If some CEO wants to do "good deeds" - by all means. The world could use a few more people who give back. But putting your logo on the "poor hungry third world faces" and shooting YouTube video just makes it feel skeevy. Ick.

    My 2 cents, anyway.
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  • Cool article. First time I heard about this. Thanks for the share.

    I think most people are naturally better at giving their opinion about something they've seen, than they are at thinking about the potential benefits of creating an event that people see and feel compelled, as if their duty, to express their opinion about.

    Point in case, the CEO of GoDaddy doesn't care if people think his actions are in poor taste. He just does what he thinks is right for him according to him, figures out how to bank on it, and rightly so. A good example of not trying to change human nature, but using it to your advantage. Props.

    PS. I'm still not sure what you were tryign to say in your OP.
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    • Re; the point. I thought this might cool down some of the misplaced passion about valuing the destructive behavior of the elephants over the well being of people over there. As pointed out in the article, the elephants destroying the food does result in people dying from starvation.

      When people start making judgements about anything only hearing one side of the story, I'm not at all sure they are (good) business people. And that video showing only one side of the story apparently going viral is IMO a shining example.

      As far as a marketing conspiracy, I find it humorous (in a sick way) to think that this might have all been planned out ahead of time. What do all the people who jumped on the "this is bad" bandwagon think now?

      Marvin
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  • Thanks for the article. Now is more or less realistic.
    There's no living CEO of a big company stupid enough to murder an animal for fun and boast about it.
    "Look I killed a kitten with my big caliber sniper rifle! Wow, I'm cool. I should post it to YouTube. Let the world know." just doesn't make any sense.

    I wouldn't make a video of it. Even if I did, I'd leave it in a wall safe with a password on the file.
  • At first I was like this is an april fools joke in poor taste - very poor. Then it dawns on me that this is a real movie. A cold chill crawls up my spine. This is a monster, not even a person.

    He is no doubt one of those execs. The kind that fire people for fun with all their DOWN sizing and OUT sourcing. Always cutting workers pay. Then he turns around and gives himself another salary increase.
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    • Banned
      lol ... this post just sent a cold chill up my spine. I reckon you're one of them veggie-tarians who think that it's cool to let people starve because of ruined crops rather than kill and eat a problem elephant.
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  • Yet another reason (as though I needed another) to avoid GoDaddy like the black plague.
  • It doesn't matter if the village has an "elephant problem". It was a stupid marketing stunt done with the intent of promoting the service.

    How many domains are sold to those villagers?

    How many domains are sold to people repulsed by what they saw?
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  • UGH..

    Getting pretty tired of the righteous few out there claiming that killing the elephant was for the best,the elephant trampling crops was causing people starve...why oh why do people value elephants over humans etc etc.

    The point is...Parsons is a moron if he truly feels sneaking through the bushes and firing at one elephant in the middle of the night is going to ensure they never come back.

    Hey Mr. MoneyBags Parsons...Ive got a "thinking outside of the box" idea.

    Use your oodles of money to build a damn fence.

    Hmmm...Problems solved?
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    • Now that's funny. I think you need to look up the definition of "righteous", because it's coming from the other side.

      However, don't take my comments to mean I support what Parsons did. I see the different sides to the controversy and think there are strong and weak points being made all around.

      I do like the idea of building a fence. May be the first fully reasonable thing I've seen said yet.

      All the best,
      Michael
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  • Bob Parsons gave a speech a couple of years ago here in Tampa. I've never had any trouble with elephants since.
  • I am going to go to Mcdonalds now and have a cheeseburger with bacon and some chicken nuggets for lunch.

    I know the cow, pig and chicken used for my meal didn't try to destroy a village's food, but were just hanging out at the farm.

    I will enjoy my meal and come back to read more of this thread.

    I would video tape myself eating the meal, but don't want to offend anyone.

    All the smiling/happy people lovin' there food on the TV commercial should be ashamed of themselves.
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    • And thats the kind of post I needed to get me through the rest of my Friday!
  • I think it's strange how we hold one animal (an elephant) in such high regard and are outraged by it's death, yet millions of animals are slaughtered everyday for far more unnecessary reasons than destroying crops.

    Maybe this 1 Elephant will help the cause of animal rights because it was killed by an "important" person, but it pales in comparison to the elephants that are killed needlessly everyday for their tusks.
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    • How much of your version is determined by listening to one-sided marketing presentations?

      And what is the other side of that story?

      And what is the difference between that and the misleading sales copy/headlines/etc that is way too common in todays IM space?

      Marvin
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