A woman has won the right to move forward with a $10 million lawsuit against Toyota after she had become the subject of an ill-advised stalking-themed advertising campaign, reports
Wired.com.
Amanda Duick first sued the automaker in 2009 after friends had signed her up for the “Your Other You” campaign without her knowledge.
Over several days, she received emails from a fictional stranger named “Sebastian Bowler,” who claimed to be a fugitive from justice who said he was going to show up at Duick’s place in a few days as he hid from police. The last message she got was from someone claiming to be the manager of a motel that Bowler had stayed at who wanted her to pay for a TV he had destroyed.
Duick finally received an email explaining that it had all been part of an elaborate prank, with a link to a video about the campaign for the Toyota Matrix.
“Even when you get several stages in, it’s still looking pretty real,” explained the creative director of Saatchi & Saatchi LA, the ad agency behind the campaign. “I think even the most cynical, anti-advertising guy will appreciate the depth and length to which we’ve gone.”
The suit names the ad agency, Toyota, and 50 people involved with the campaign. Duick is claiming intentional infliction of emotional distress, deceptive trade practices, and other offenses.
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