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Worst Promotion Ever Causes Riot In Union Square As Hipsters Fight For Cash-Wrapped Tomatoes

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Cash Tomato, a would-be YouTube! competitor, tried to drum up free advertising by handing out tomatoes wrapped with wads of cash in New York's Union Square. The event was scheduled to kick-off yesterday at 2:29 p.m. to honor the leap year with giveaways of up to $29. Predictably, a riot ensued as a mob of over 100 overwhelmed the three workers dressed as tomatoes who were holding the cash. Video of the riot, after the jump.


Completely Foreseeable Riot as Cash Thrown at Public in Union Square [Gothamist]
(Photo: M. Roberts/Daily News)

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72
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Fail!

That was definately not thought through. Cash Tomato was really lucky no one got badly hurt over this. But then again you would expect people to have more respect for one another and not go nuts over a measly $29.

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Now, imagine if it was $229 dollars. There would be a death on the 6 o'clock news report.

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what a waste of tomatoes...I could have made spaghetti sauce with those!

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It is quite ironic that this video is posted on Youtube.

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The next time some jack-hole NYC person tries to snob me for living in SF, I am going to throw him to the ground and beat him with tomatoes.

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What kind of society have we developed when riots are started over fruit wrapped in pocket change?

We are going downhill, and this is a large sign.

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That's all it takes to incite a riot, $29 tanking US dollars?

But it still works as a promotion as you probably would not even have heard about it unless in went all pear-shaped like it did.

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hipsters used to be too cool to do something like this. tsk!

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Wow, publicity like that? Priceless.

Manhattan's way too jaded for such things, tho.

Next time: $100 bills. Wrapped around hand grenades!

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Next time I hope there is alcohol involved to liven it up a bit.

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wow. a trash can fell over.

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all that for the chance for jut 29 bucks? What?...were they all crackheads?

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We love Arthur Fortune!
He gave us a dollar!

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@AndyDuncan:

As God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly.

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@Yankees368:

Has anyone posted this video on Cash Tomato yet?

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I guess people in New York are desperate?

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I've heard of them now. Guess it worked out.

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I'd like to see that grenade stunt...

However, if the cash amount was 100 ish, there likely would've been a death and tons more people hurt.

I never heard of Cash Tomato until now, so perhaps this publicity stunt will get more people to try them out now since this'll be on the news...

I like oranges and apples more than tomatoes, they should've used that or cash cows...

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Reminds me of Terry Sothern's The Magic Christian, where a rich man throws money into a cesspool to watch everyone dive in after it.

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My self respect is worth a lot more than $29. I guess it goes for much less in New York.

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It might be worth fighting for €29 Euros, but not Dollars.

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Yyyyyep! New York is now back to normal.

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This video should definitely get the $1000 prize on cashtomato. Maybe they could hand out prizes for who can film the best mob scene next time... or wait, that's exactly what they did this time, never mind.

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What can you even buy with $29 in New York? A McDonald's Hamburger?

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LMAO! In my corner of the world, it worked. Until now, I had never heard of "Cash Tomato." Success or failure, now at least a lot of other people who have ever heard of "Cash Tomato" know of their existence.

Still ... is $29 really worth it?

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Oh, for crying out loud, this is not fighting over $29... this is dog-eat-dog fighting for a piece of the pile, which was probably more like $10,000.

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Ha! Ha! Sign your promotion failed = it's posted on YouTube :)

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wussy riot. i see 18-20 year old snobby college kids riot much more violently when the christian club stops passing out the free sober up hot dogs and hamburgers at 11 pm. i also imagine a substantially lower amount, but larger scale of promotion would incite a much more desperate and violent riot

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@matto: yes, i think i will also use this tactic. also, no self-respecting SF company would call itself "cash tomato" anyway. what, was "scrilla squash" taken?

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Cash Tomato didn't even stay to help with the clean up.

Yeah, it's pretty hard to help clean up when you're being driven away in an ambulance.

Am I the only one who finds it odd that the guy video taping this' only reaction to someone being thrown to the ground was, "Haha, Cash Tomato sucks"?

It isn't a real riot if you can stand there and giggle.

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That video is so much less exciting than the description led me to believe.

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Yeah, I didn't see anything in there. Looked like some people yelling at each other, and that was it.

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They was laying on top of the man!

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Where were the hipsters? I just saw skanks.

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Hopefully it was worth it. Sheez

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Bunch of savages.

You know, any one of you could have gotten a JOB that paid more than maybe $29 for the time you spent being total idiots.

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hey your showing your age and mine (since I get the reference) @Odwalla:

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You know, just ten pounds of $29 tomatoes could add up to a serious chunk of change, depending on the average weight of your tomatoes. A "garbage bag" full of tomatoes could be worth thousands.


So I don't think I'd risk serious bodily injury, but if a guy went by me with a stolen bag of money I'd probably make a grab for it. :)

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Idiots.

Goes to show you what a wrong idea in the wrong hands will do.

Side note: Cash Tomato does suck. Their videos take a long time to load and they are choppy.

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@timsgm1418: oh hell. that means I'm showing my age, too.

and, in this case, I could imagine 1) people thought it was more than $29 (the crowd outliers who just knew money was being handed out), and 2) NYU students desperate for weed money.

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i need to see the police report. are you sure the guy who is supposedly "reporting on this" isn't part of cash tomato? is this a straight up joke? i didn't do any search at all just throwing it out there.

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Wow, they get a tiny bit of coverage and their site goes down like a White House intern. Oh sure, they got YouTube quakin' in their boots I bet. At least they have a future on radio in Cincinnati.

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@odwalla:

@AndyDuncan:

As God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly.

Long live "WKRP in Cincinatti"!

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Wow, only one person here mentioned what a jackoff the guy in the video was?? I think his comments on the situation are scarier than the "riot."

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yeah the videographer is obviously a shill... with scary chiclet teeth. why did i even watch that video? ugh.