Was the Forehead Ad Auction a Hoax?

Adrants reports on an interesting rumor. The recent forehead-ad auction on eBay may have been a hoax. Andrew Fischer, the guy who successfully auctioned his forehead for $37,375, seems to have had connections to SnoreStop (the company that won the auction) long before the auction occurred. Apparently he went to college with the daughter of SnoreStop's CEO... and the two of them colluded to pull off this pr stunt. The rumor has the ring of truth to it, because as Adrants says:

This entire thing was very iffy and scammy and media savvy, they even had a PR firm ready to give out photos in a jiffy. Who arranged all this to happen with such magic speed?

Plus, the idea of selling ad space on your forehead was hardly new. It had been done before, even on eBay. So it puzzled me why this guy in particular received so much attention. If it were all a carefully organized pr stunt, that would explain why.

Advertising eBay

Posted on Sun Jan 30, 2005


Comments

nice. my post has been referred to twice.
Posted by Jacob  on  Sun Jan 30, 2005  at  03:21 PM
I guess we'll see if he gets any more sponsors. I don't know if I'd call it a hoax. Maybe the girl he went to college with just thought it would be good for her father's business and since she knew him, why not? Just cause they know eachother doesn't necessarily mean it was all fake. Who knows? Who cares? :roll:
Posted by Glamcat  on  Sun Jan 30, 2005  at  04:18 PM
In fact no, I have never been to college in my entire life, nor have I ever met this girl even to this day. Where or how this rumor got started I do not know, but I can assure you I have never even heard of SnoreStop before this auction. How did the PR company get my picture so fast? Let me think. I took a digital picture of myself, and then emailed it to them. Follow? This is just a rumor made up by someone who is jealous of the fact that I had a good idea that worked out very well for me. I have added this question to the FAQ page on my website as well to prevent this rumor from spreading. Not everything in life is a conspiracy.
Posted by Andrew Fischer  on  Sun Jan 30, 2005  at  10:42 PM
As much as I'd like to think this Fischer guy is a hoaxer, the AdRant story doesn't cite one single source, just repeats a rumor. "My friends cousin knows this guy who said..." !? What the hell kind of reporting is that? Then they run Fischer's response under the main article. Is it really Fischer? Did the contact him before running the first article ran? Do they fact-check at all there?

What is wrong with journalists?
Posted by JoeSixpack  on  Mon Jan 31, 2005  at  07:18 AM
Did you want an alphabetical list?
Posted by Maegan  on  Mon Jan 31, 2005  at  08:28 AM
Yes, it is "Fischer." In fact I am "Fischer." The email address posted on my website is .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). This is the email address that I sent my response from. If you look above your post, you will see the same response by me posted here... 😊 Anyway, I agree, "My friends cousin knows this guy who said..." is the worst kind of reporting. Look at my response to this question on http://www.humanadspace.com/site/faq.html if you like. Anyway, drop me an email and I'll get back to you. That should be proof enough that it's me. 😊

And Meagan, I would like an alphabetical list. Could I get it sorted by last name? 😉
Posted by Andrew Fischer  on  Mon Jan 31, 2005  at  02:11 PM
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