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RetailBlack Friday

Black Friday’s Worst Deal? A $100,000 Hole in the Ground.

By
David Z. Morris
David Z. Morris
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By
David Z. Morris
David Z. Morris
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November 27, 2016, 4:53 PM ET
Youtube/Cards Against Humanity

In a publicity stunt totally in line with their acerbic brand, the team behind of the hit game Cards Against Humanity has completed a hole in the ground, a project for which they raised $100,000. The hole, apparently, has no purpose whatsoever.

All of us at Cards Against Humanity believe the best thing to do today is help us dig this big hole in the ground. https://t.co/3OzPDHGTp8

— Cards Against Humanity (@CAH) November 25, 2016

The money does not, so far, appear to have been secretly redirected to a charity.

It's going to hole https://t.co/KtPdiAqDM9

— Cards Against Humanity (@CAH) November 25, 2016

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In fact, in a confrontational FAQ published at HolidayHole.com, the CAH team skewers the very idea that they should be doing something productive with their time, energy, and money. Here’s just a sampling of the Q&A.

Is this real?

Unfortunately it is.

Where is the hole?

America. And in our hearts.

What do I get for contributing money to the hole?

A deeper hole. What else are you going to buy, an iPod?

Why aren’t you giving all this money to charity?

Why aren’t YOU giving all this money to charity? It’s your money.

It’s all in the spirit of the game, in which players compete to offer the funniest (and often, most offensive) conclusions to incomplete sentences.

It’s also the fourth of the publisher’s Black Friday stunts, all creative counterprogramming to the most commercial day of the year. In 2013, the game was offered at an “anti-sale” price $5 higher than its regular retail price. In 2014, the card game was completely removed from the online store, and replaced with boxes of bull feces (30,000 boxes were sold). In 2015, they asked fans to “Give Cards Against Humanity $5.” Nothing was offered in return – but more than 11,000 customers gave money anyway.

For more on Black Friday, watch our video.

Of course, in this case, something did come out of the project. Here’s a four hour edited video of bulldozers digging a hole, at an undisclosed location.

About the Author
By David Z. Morris
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