Businesses and website owners typically discourage snarky comments.
They're distracting and usually subtract from the message the business wants to convey.
Except when they completely blow up the Internet. Then they're great …
A fake review with a real impact
Amazon showed Brian Govern the Three Wolf Moon t-shirt from The Mountain, a clothing manufacturer in New Hampshire.
He was not impressed and a bit confused, so he fabricated a review absolutely dripping with snark. Not a bit of it true, and not a bit based on actual experience with the product.
Behold, here it is.
What followed was an explosion of similar reviews that rocketed Three Wolf Moon to #1 in Apparel on Amazon. For Michael McGloin, artist/entrepreneur and owner of ArtWear, he then looked at the tee on the assembly line, and asked what it meant to him, he said: “Money.”
My original post from 2009
(This post showed up on the Random Posts sidebar widget. Ah, the benefit of having a blog begun in 2005!)
This is what I wrote back then:
I hope Brian Govern got some swag from The Mountain (published June 1, 2009)
If you don't know what the heck I'm talking about, don't worry. I'll explain.
If you do, then obviously you've heard of the wonders of the Three Wolf Moon T-Shirt. This shirt from The Mountain in Keene, New Hampshire, is now the #1 selling item in the Apparel section of Amazon.com. An ABC World News piece on the phenomenon mentioned that The Mountain is selling around a hundred of these shirts per hour and that it is now out-selling everything else combined.
What started this feeding frenzy was a tongue-in-cheek review of the shirt by Brian Govern, a law student in New Jersey. I don't even know if he actually bought the shirt or not. I can't do the review justice; you'll want to read it for yourself. Good Amazon reviews on popular products might have a couple hundred people saying that it was helpful. At last count, over nine thousand people found Mr. Govern's review helpful. What's more, over 900 other reviewers have picked up the ball and ran with it with their own spin. It's hilarious reading if you have a few spare hours to burn.
It's refreshing to see a business that is running with this somewhat dubious success and not taking the high ground to fight the masses who are filling its coffers. Mr. Govern got some face time on ABC for the review and all, but I really, really hope that The Mountain took care of him after what he set off. His review touched off a best seller in an economy where people are finding it harder to locate two dimes to rub together. This is taking care of the people who took care of you.
Even if Mr. Govern wouldn't touch that t-shirt with a ten-foot torte, he's the prime cause for The Mountain making a heck of a lot of money. The Mountain would be wise to at least send a thank-you note. 😉
Seize greatness when it happens
The Roman philosopher Seneca said: “Luck is when preparation meets opportunity.”
Likely no one saw Brian Govern's comment coming. But they were ready when it came:
- They embraced the flood of orders.
- They were prepared to fulfill them.
- They continued to ride the wave. (The 3WM tee is still for sale!)
Are you ready for greatness?
Thanks for reading!
Hi, I’m John and I encourage people to work for themselves, and on themselves, every day to sleep better at night. I also hoard side hustles and look for ways to make them work together.
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Header Photo by Daisy Schopman on Unsplash
ha – I agree. It’s a fascinating story there… that’s a good point, he should definitely get a kickback for helping set that off… all the sales he set in motion, wow… I think it’s definitely a story for The History of Internet Marketing, whoever’s writing that book….
Wow! If only I could get that guy to review my blog.
I am absolutely stunned to hear that they were selling so many of those shirts!
I heard about this about a week ago, before they had released the numbers, and I will agree that the review is hilarious. I NEVER would have thought to buy the shirt though.
I suppose that’s why we live in the world that we do – because there’s always going to be somebody that’s willing to buy the wolf shirt.
My wife actually likes the shirt. She’s a big fan of wolves. She got a kick out of the comments, though.
I heard about the shirt but never knew the guy’s name.