Bridesmaid auction: Cool happenings or cheap publicity?

by Caroline Humphreys, Posted Jun 27th 2008 1:00PM

You may already be familiar with the story of Kelly Gray, the 23-year-old hairdresser in Virginia who set up an eBay auction this past week for the last open bridesmaid spot in her wedding. Because her finances are tight, her hope was to get enough money from the auction to help cover some of the other wedding expenses. Her hopes were more than answered, but not by any kind of angel. Her hopes were answered by capitalism when the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group offered the highest bid, $5,700. When Gray contacted the company, they promptly upped their own bid, donating $10,000 and all the beverages for the nuptials. As for the bridesmaid spot, the company plans to launch an online contest or obtain a surprise celebrity to stand in the wedding.

Although this kind of on-the-spot, tech-oriented marketing is just what consumer brands are on the lookout for these days, both Dr. Pepper Snapple and Gray herself are coming under attack. Gray is accused of not taking responsibility for her family and finances – in short begging others to bail her out when she needs extra cash. Some even say the marriage is already doomed. Dr. Pepper Snapple, the third largest soft drink manufacturer, is probably – and predictably -- looking for small ways to irritate the two Goliath cola makers. Undeniably, this creates a whole new relationship between consumers and brands. Can anyone in need use "creative Internet" to access the kind of cash that corporations throw around daily in marketing meetings (although many similar eBay listings have gone ignored)? What does the end of that road look like?

What do you think? Is Dr. Pepper Snapple grabbing at quick and dirty publicity? Is Gray's marriage doomed? Or are all these naysayers just jealous they didn't think of it (or have the guts to do it) themselves?

Was the bridesmaid auction a good thing or just a publicity stunt?
It's great! A win-win for both sides.	37 (61.7%)
It seems a little dodgy, but mostly okay.	7 (11.7%)
Our culture's going down a rocky road and this proves it.	16 (26.7%)

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Tags: bridesmaid-auction, dr. pepper, Dr.Pepper, snapple

Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

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7-15-2008 @2:27PM

Kevin Strawbridge said...

There is nothing wrong with this kind of market driven event. This is not a bailout. In fact, it is exactly the type of thing more reponsible people should do. DPSnapple saw a legitimate asset to purchase and did so. My hats off to them. The couple looked for a way to convert something intangible into something tangible. They did not give up. Great stuff.