Insane Clown Posse, legal troubles and a keen marketing opportunity in a slow economy?
Posted on January 6th, 2009 – 3:31 PMBy Michael Rand
This has nothing to do with sports, as Stu noted when he sent the link, but a few things compel us to post it anyway. 1) An off-brand soda that the RBBH used in a “imagine the worst brand name you could every think of … and now look over there” joke at a gas station last night makes an appearance in the story. 2) It involves North Dakota. 3) Just read it (bold, as usual, is ours).
A Fargo man is suing the musical act Insane Clown Posse and its rapper Violent J after being injured while attending the band’s June 2007 concert.
John Antonelli is seeking at least $50,000 in damages in the lawsuit, which also names Playmakers, a venue now known as The Hub, as a defendant.
Antonelli was injured during the concert after Joseph Bruce – known as Violent J – threw an unopened two-liter bottle of soda into the crowd. The bottle struck Antonelli in his right eye, Cass County District Court documents state.
The band often sprays audiences with Faygo soda during shows, which are often attended by a group of fans that call themselves Juggalos.
The band has had legal trouble in the past. Both members were fined $200 in 1998 after getting into a fight with a customer at an Indiana Waffle House, according to Rolling Stone.
We don’t really have much to add except to say: Fargo. Faygo. It’s just one letter off. Could the largest city in North Dakota shed tradition, make a tiny typographical shift and suddenly start filling city coffers with promotional money? We say yes. That’s the motto for 2009: You can never be too proud.
And sorry about the sporadic posting. The Intermans have been broken here since about 2 p.m., and we’re posting this from the one outside internet access spot in the entire building. That, folks, is dedication to craft.
6 Responses to "Insane Clown Posse, legal troubles and a keen marketing opportunity in a slow economy?"
Group not included on any of my Best Of… mixes: Insane Clown Posse.
It’s worth wondering how many Juggalos are also AV commenters.
You’ll also notice in the picture above that Faygo’s red-colored soda is not called Cherry Faygo or Faygoberry or Faygo Crush. It’s called Faygo RedPop, with an unnecessary exclamation point at the end. It’s the only pop that tastes like red!
Needless to say: AWESOME.
Huh. The Great Milenko came out when I was a freshman in college, and we often listened to it while playing Jet-Moto on the PSOne. During one such session, one of the guys asked his roommate to throw him a pop, and was promptly hit in the eye with an ice cold Coke. Something about ICP and getting hit in the eye with pop, I guess.
I was at the first available public showing of the movie “Fargo” within the city of Fargo (at West Acres). You would think it would have been a big deal, but there were about ten people in the theater.
Fargo simply doesn’t care about the outside world’s trappings; things like “promotional money”, “tourist dollars”, “literacy”, or “pants”.
ICP Rules. I actually listened to The Great Milenko in college all the time.
Given the style of their music, It’s no wonder they’ve had legal trouble. They send a great message out to their fans.
