Sometimes news comes across our digital desk that's just too odd not to pass along to you. This is just one of those stories: The makers of
Stride Gum are putting 1 million packs of gum on the line to put a stop to Uwe Boll's directing career. In short, if
this petition receives another 764,000 signatures or so by May 14, the company's going to give every one of the signers a free pack of gum on May 23.
Wait, this is a publicity stunt? Oh, yeah, we know. But you know what else we know?
We love free gum. These are the kind of moral quandaries you get into every day as a video game blogger, but we're pretty sure we made the right call on this one.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Curtis the Claw:XBL - supapaypamawio @ May 7th 2008 6:03PM
Uwe Boll stops making movies and I get a pack of gum? Sounds good to me.
ApolloIV @ May 7th 2008 6:04PM
Uwe boll stops making moives? Sounds good to me.
Fixed
Curtis the Claw:XBL - supapaypamawio @ May 7th 2008 6:06PM
I'm not really getting what you fixed...
Haggard @ May 7th 2008 6:15PM
You could look at this three ways
1) Stride Gum freakin' hate Boll.
2) Stride don't think the petition will ever reach 1 mill and want a small wave of (free) publicity
3) Stride think the large wave of publicity if it suceeds will be worth the cost of all the gum (bear in mind it probably costs under 10p to make a pack of gum, and they'll probably only give it to US and Canada petitioners - i've never heard of Stride here in the UK) This would make the stunt well under £100,000 - probably cheaper than a TV ad spot.
Jhongerkong @ May 7th 2008 6:32PM
As you can see, what the commenter has done is he's taken out the part about the free gum; thereby insinuating that have Boll stop making movies is good enough.
Its all here in this brochure.
Kujel @ May 7th 2008 8:10PM
I signed the petition before the whole stride gum thing :D
ApolloIV @ May 7th 2008 6:05PM
Damnit needs edit post button. Typed the last comment while playing with the dog :(
ViagraFiend @ May 7th 2008 6:07PM
Your dog looks like its scared of you.
ApolloIV @ May 7th 2008 6:12PM
That is sadly not my dog :(. That's the "Do not want" motivational poster for those not familiar with it.
Desert Eagle @ May 8th 2008 12:56AM
Wait, your avatar is a dog?! I always thought it was a wookie... until a closer inspection I just did.
Lone Starr @ May 7th 2008 6:05PM
Stride's motto:
The ridiculously long lasting gum. Good for you, bad for us.
We all know what they want to say:
Uwe's ridiculously long lasting career. Good for him, bad for us.
Yourself @ May 7th 2008 6:06PM
Everyone know's that Uwe Boll's directing career has caused people to flee from movie theaters in horror, thereby preventing them from buying gum to stick to the bottoms of the seats. Stride is trying to stop this by whatever means necessary.
Chunks @ May 7th 2008 6:10PM
oh em gee teh free gums
Rein @ May 7th 2008 6:10PM
Poor Uwe. I feel bad for him since he's just a cute old german man. :(
Never seen any of his movies though, but then again, I don't watch many movies anyway.
noskillbassist @ May 7th 2008 6:12PM
lol... online petitions
ApolloIV @ May 7th 2008 6:14PM
Can he challenge Stride to a boxing match?
finnith @ May 7th 2008 7:54PM
He'd lose because Stride lasts so long.
Sorry.
xGeneral DEATHx @ May 8th 2008 8:07AM
No need to apologize, I lul'ed.
Mrblonde @ May 7th 2008 6:17PM
I can haz free gum?
Nigeria @ May 7th 2008 6:18PM
I hope he gets the Metal Gear licence some how, just out of spite.
By sheer force of Boll's personality, I'm looking forward to Postal. Though I've yet to watch a film of his, I believe Postal could be every bit as good as the upcoming Batman film.
I have blind faith like that.
Noshino @ May 7th 2008 6:33PM
Kogima might be crazy, but not THAT crazy
x silence x @ May 7th 2008 6:37PM
How is Stride going to contact people for their free gum?
TheOverlord#2 can has Mario Karts?(MK:2578-3517-9859) @ May 7th 2008 8:46PM
Probably just let everyone get it by giving a free pack in every store that has it.
TheOverlord#2 can has Mario Karts?(MK:2578-3517-9859) @ May 7th 2008 9:08PM
Ex: "Free Stride Gum Day! July 12th" or something like that
The_Punisher @ May 7th 2008 6:40PM
239968
I like free :)
Benny @ May 7th 2008 6:47PM
REALITY STRIKES.
This is a publicity stunt and NEVER EVER EVER is that petition going to get a million signatures by the 14th.
I would hope that not that many people had even seen his movies...
driven2sin @ May 7th 2008 6:48PM
that fake sugar makes my ass bleed
fred @ May 7th 2008 8:07PM
I hate to say it but I have the same problem.
xGeneral DEATHx @ May 8th 2008 8:11AM
:-|
Double J @ May 7th 2008 6:50PM
Maybe if I'm lucky, I'll also get a free Dr. Pepper this year too thanks to Axl Rose.
Reuben @ May 7th 2008 7:01PM
I was thinking the SAME thing.
dark_inchworm @ May 7th 2008 11:33PM
Elaborate on this Dr. Pepper business...
Double J @ May 8th 2008 1:34AM
Dr. Pepper released a statement saying if Axl releases Chinese Democracy within this year, everyone in America gets a free Dr. Pepper. It's pretty much a safe bet that no one is getting a free Dr. Pepper.
ThornedVenom (Harley Quinn Defense Force) @ May 7th 2008 6:56PM
It's time to kickass and to chew bubblegum, and I'm all out of... oh cool, free Stride Gum.
mberkowitz @ May 7th 2008 7:15PM
this is so stupid, this is AMERICA! if you don't want to see his shitty movies, then don't see them. They only give him shitty properties to work with anyway so who cares.
Squirrel3D @ May 7th 2008 10:30PM
But that's the problem. Because we live in a society where people are that damn stupid, that damn uninformed, and that damn controlled by the mainstream....of course they'll go see crap movies made by crap directors like Uwe Boll!!
And I signed the petition.
RudyHuxtable @ May 7th 2008 7:17PM
Now he's going to make a movie based on the Crash Bandicoot license and have thrown packs of gum be weapons.
mike @ May 7th 2008 7:37PM
this is BS. 1st off, no way will that petition reach 1 million that fast. Dont get me wrong, it will hit 1 million eventually, but its gonna be a year or so still.
Second, I highly doubt stride will ship out 1 million samples of gum across the world, especially considering they do not market worldwide. If for whatever reason that signature does hit 1 million, all you can expect is maybe 2 or 3 us cities have stride set up a booth at a local mall and hand out packs of gum, untill they handed out 1 million. so you still aint getting your gum, even if they hand them out.
Cabcru @ May 7th 2008 8:06PM
Is this where both Boll and Stride find out nobody really gives that much of a toss about either of them?
bleu_flame @ May 7th 2008 8:13PM
If we do get free gum by stopping him, I'll tell the gum beggers at school, "NO YOU MAY NOT HAVE A PIECE! I GOT THIS FOR STOPPING A MADMAN!"
JJ Rooster @ May 7th 2008 8:31PM
Why doesn't Stride gum send out a million packs to the homeless zombies now populating Myanmar (Burma)? All that decay could use some everlastin' freshness!
Makeseven @ May 7th 2008 11:37PM
[jaw hits desk]
xGeneral DEATHx @ May 8th 2008 8:14AM
That comment, paired with the awesome avvie, wins you the internets. :)
BrokenAbacus @ May 7th 2008 8:49PM
I signed that thing the moment I saw it. And whats odd is he loves that it's out there.
BrokenAbacus @ May 7th 2008 8:51PM
Thats just wrong man! They are estimating 100,000 dead.
Cyantre @ May 7th 2008 9:05PM
I signed at the promise of free gum. =)
Natural Cauzes @ May 7th 2008 9:12PM
If this petition ever got to be mentioned on the Colbert Report, I guarantee a million signatures would be there within a relatively short period of time. Although free gum is quite convincing.
Trippy Haps @ May 7th 2008 11:43PM
+1 for truth
We should totally start a petition to get Colbert to mention this petition on his show.
Hey! He may even go as far as to put Uwe Boll ON NOTICE
TheOverlord#2 can has Mario Karts?(MK:2578-3517-9859) @ May 7th 2008 9:14PM
By the way, He went on Attack of the Show about a week after the petition started and said the he probably wouldn't care about the petition because all of the double signings.(During the interview...he was there to promote Postal or w/e his new movie is mainly)
Not to shoot anyone's dreams but, just saying.
BrokenAbacus @ May 8th 2008 4:05AM
Yeah. I say that episode. He did say that if there were 1 million "Unique" signitures then he would have no problem throwing in the towel.