Cashtomato Giveaway Turns Into Riot
By Michelle Fabio
CashTomato, a new internet video-sharing company modeled after YouTube, just wanted to create some publicity by having employees dress up as tomatoes and hand out cash prizes to passersby in New York City.
What resulted, though, was a tomato riot when the 100 or so in the crowd became impatient and rushed those holding the cash-filled envelopes, sending the human tomatoes across the street in fear of their safety and leaving the cash up for grabs.
Or, as the New York Daily News put it, “Only in New York can a tomato get mugged for $4,000.”
This was CashTomato’s sixth promotional event handing out money; the previous cash distributions were held in three British cities, San Francisco, and Berkley, California—all without incident.
“In San Francisco, the worst thing that happened was a few homeless people made off with too many envelopes,” said Jason Buzi, CashTomato’s senior vice president.
“Maybe next time, I would plan this better,” he added.
