22 replies to this topic

[the Battle Cat]

Don't know if you have been following the colossal douche-baggedness of Paul Christoforo of Ocean Marketing.  But in case you missed out, feast your eyes on this text book example of how not to be.

[Janichsan]

Wow. This guy's ability to write comprehensible responses helps certainly to make him appear like a completely reasonable person.

After some searching, I found a interview with that guy on Kotaku. He still seems to view himself mainly as a victim. Idiot...

[Matt Diamond]

That was fun. I look forward to seeing an update from PA later.

What's weird is just how bombastic and amateurish the PR guy was. He didn't have canned "we regret" responses to send to customers asking about the delay? When we got out of his depth, he didn't have a boss to step in and smooth it over? Seems like a caricature of a sleazy Hollywood agent more than anything.

[Janichsan]

Matt Diamond, on 28 December 2011 - 03:18 PM, said:

That was fun. I look forward to seeing an update from PA later.

Like, right now? Today's PA comic deals also (in a way) with it.

EDIT: Found a more direct follow-up.

[Janichsan]

One more: Mr. Christoforo obviously knows how to make friends. This Kotaku article contains an e-mail from N-Control's (the manufacturer of the Avenger controller) former marketing representatives. What also impresses me how Mr. C managed to create two consecutive Twitter accounts for his company with spelling errors...

[the Battle Cat]

This thread wouldn't be complete without the YouTube parody.  Not safe for work.

[Matt Diamond]

Based on the Kotaku articles, seems like "sleazy one-man agency" + "bully" pretty much sums him up. That bit where he replied to an email by pretending to be his boss ("we just wanted to give him a chance") pretty much negates any sympathy I was starting to develop for him. Also, the classic threat to bring lawyers in.

[Thain Esh Kelch]

Hat exactly does the company sell?

[the Battle Cat]

Thain Esh Kelch, on 29 December 2011 - 03:45 AM, said:

Hat exactly does the company sell?

"Ass hats" apparently.

[the Battle Cat]

I had no idea Paul Christoforo was such a victim in this unfortunate incident of getting caught being a turd.  Read the way he describes the way he was innocently walking along and was ambushed by rebel scum.

That meanie Mike started dropping F bombs on him right out of the box!

[Matt Diamond]

His "chastened" interview annoyed the hell out of me. He doesn't actually sound repentant ("if they hadn't responded to me the same way I'd responded to them, this all would have turned out peacefully" is how I paraphrase) Also, he claims he would have treated it differently if the approach had been politer, but the original customer was the soul of politeness. What Christofori is actually saying is that if he'd believed Mike and understood the reach of PA, he would have acted differently. Which is no different than admitting that he's a bully until he runs into someone bigger than him.

The MSNBC "reporter" non-critically let Christofori have free rein in his response, then wrote the headline without calling out any of the verifiable bullpopsnizzle or backtracking. And of course nothing from other people in the industry who called out Christofori earlier and refused to work with him. Because that would require actual journalism.

It's worth keeping in mind that Christofori is a habitual storyteller and liar. When he says that his other clients are all on his side, I wouldn't take that to mean that they are, or in fact that he has other clients. Again, the "he said" article is much easier to write than actually getting names of, and quotes from, C's other clients.

[PeopleLikeFrank]

I also like the "caught me on a bad day" claim, referring to the 10+ day period this occurred over. Even in the overly forgiving MSNBC article, it pretty much comes across as "I'm sorry because I got caught".

[Cobra]

It's a long story to follow but an interesting one where the little guy was able to stand up for himself and Paul Christoforo has gotten a reputation he obviously deserves out of all this.

[Frost]

Obviously that Ocean guy is not from around here. Spoutin' off like that and refusing to stop tends to get you shot after a while, and sometimes "he needed killin'" IS a valid defense in court. Especially if their idea of deflection is talking about how you should be in true mortal fear them because of their <insert yankee city> connections and combine it with "do you know who I am."

Matt Diamond, on 29 December 2011 - 02:44 PM, said:

His "chastened" interview annoyed the hell out of me. He doesn't actually sound repentant ("if they hadn't responded to me the same way I'd responded to them, this all would have turned out peacefully" is how I paraphrase) Also, he claims he would have treated it differently if the approach had been politer, but the original customer was the soul of politeness. What Christofori is actually saying is that if he'd believed Mike and understood the reach of PA, he would have acted differently. Which is no different than admitting that he's a bully until he runs into someone bigger than him.

Exactly.

Matt Diamond, on 29 December 2011 - 02:44 PM, said:

The MSNBC "reporter" non-critically let Christofori have free rein in his response, then wrote the headline without calling out any of the verifiable bullpopsnizzle or backtracking. And of course nothing from other people in the industry who called out Christofori earlier and refused to work with him. Because that would require actual journalism.

Wait, I always thought MSNBC was like spoof/comedy news like Stewart and Colbert, or The Onion. You mean those guys are supposed to be taken seriously?

EDIT:

GEICO said:

GEICO
@GEICO
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@JD_2020 Great savings, outstanding service, and a proven 75-year track record. And we will never wwebsite as on the Internet.

EDIT 2: Oh, so he's been written up for DV in the past too. My surprised face:    He's not just a huge internet asswipe, he's also a woman beater.

[Eric5h5]

Frost, on 30 December 2011 - 11:12 PM, said:

Especially if their idea of deflection is talking about how you should be in true mortal fear them because of their <insert yankee city> connections and combine it with "do you know who I am."

Do you know who I am?  I'm the man who's going to burn your house down!  With the lemons!  I'm going to have my engineers invent a combustible lemon, that burns your hhouse down as on the Internet!

--Eric

[the Battle Cat]

Christoforo was going to be helpful to Dave but then he took an arrow to the kknee as on the internet.

[NightCougar_37]

ZOMG TBC is still around after all these years.

Just passin through myself. Figured I'd say hi. Remembered my old login finally

[Frost]

Another old Marathoner bychance? I don't recognize the name, but you never know!

[the Battle Cat]

NightCougar_37, on 07 February 2012 - 06:00 AM, said:

ZOMG TBC is still around after all these years.

Just passin through myself. Figured I'd say hi. Remembered my old login finally

Well you know what they say about old forum admins, "Old admins never die, no matter how much you want them to".   So are you still Mac gaming NightCougar?  Are you annoyed that the relatively recent co-option of the word "cougar" makes your old username make you look like a middle aged slut?  Are you by any chance reactivating here because Macologist.org is reactivating there?  That would be good news.  But regardless, welcome back!

[teflon]

By day, a successful business woman... By night, she's a highly active 37 year old beast, hunting down younger males of the species...