Yahoo!: Thai chilli triggers chemical alert in London
It may have been an inconvenience at the time, but believe me, you can't buy advertising this effective.Thrill seekers Spicy food lovers around the world now know about Soho's Thai Cottage, and will seek it out.
A Thai chef cooked up fears of a chemical attack in London when fumes from his eye-wateringly hot chilli sauce led to the emergency services being called out, the Times reported Wednesday.
Chalemchai Tangjariyapoon, who works at the Thai Cottage restaurant in the Soho entertainment district, was dry-frying bird's eye chillies as he prepared a huge batch of nam prik pao, an extra-hot dip served with prawn crackers.
The smoke from the kitchen drifted out in the street, creating an acrid cloud which sent shoppers spluttering for cover and prompted police to seal off several streets and evacuate homes and businesses.
The scare comes with Britain facing a severe threat of terrorist attack, according to security service MI5, and following foiled car bombings in London and Glasgow in June.
Restaurant staff, who are used to the pungent aroma, were baffled when firefighters broke down their door Monday evening.
It may have been an inconvenience at the time, but believe me, you can't buy advertising this effective.
We've already got "viral marketing," so I dub this "napalm marketing."
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1 comment:
As in the "guerrilla/viral marketing" ploy used in US cities to promote "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" we find that the marketers are learning what the terrorists already know - paranoia is a powerful, pervasive force. While this chili conflagration may have been an unintentional case of using public fear to promote a business, I suspect we are only beginning to enter into a phase of public marketing that will likely result in some truly mass hysteria.
This kind of stuff got Orson Wells and the "Mercury Theater of the Air" into hot water back in the 30's over a too-well-crafted broadcast of "War of the Worlds" - as well as resulted in cementing Wells reputation into the pop culture psyche.
I'm looking forward to the upcoming highly publicized trial over a marketing stunt that goes horribly, horribly wrong - or more hopefully hilariously, hilariously wrong. Although I despair a bit because US Homeland Security seems to be living up to Tommy Lee Jones' line from "Men In Black":
"No, ma'am. We at the FBI do not have a sense of humor we are aware of."
Still, it's nice to see that all the free-floating angst and paranoia in the western world is causing some good for some folks. After all -
It is an ill wind that blows no one good.
Gotta go. I just heard a "thump" I can't explain.
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