| Suntukan sa Ace Hardware | |
| Time: | 15:00 PST |
| Venue: | Ace Hardware, SM City Lucena, Lucena, Quezon, Philippines |
| Patrons: | --> |
| Organisers: | "Bulbulito Balagbag: tuberong kulay green" |
| Motive: | Playing along with the joke over a mock fist fighting event |
| Participants: | more than 54,000 online participants |
| Outcome: | Ace Hardware held a promotional event in line with the fistfight theme, including setting up a mock boxing ring; no actual fist-fighting took place |
Suntukan sa Ace Hardware was a Facebook event that took place on April 15, 2016, at an Ace Hardware branch at SM City Lucena in Lucena, Quezon, supposedly for a free-for-all fistfighting match. Thousands of Filipino netizens responded "going" on the event's page, which attracted attention from local news sources and made the event into an Internet meme.[1] [2] [3]
The event was created as a shitpost by the Facebook page "Bulbulito Balagbag: tuberong kulay green", whose name is a crude Tagalog reference to pubic hair, some time in March 2016.[4] More than 54,000 Facebook users said that they would go to the event, while around 36,000 expressed interest.[5]
On March 31, Ace Hardware Corporation denied any involvement in the event.[6] Netizens mockingly expressed their "disappointment" over the advisory, saying that they cancelled prior commitments, such as weddings and even a childbirth, to attend the event.[7]
On April 4 and 11, 2016, Ace Hardware, in an act that reversed their earlier condemnation, posted a countdown[8] and released a poster[9] for the fictitious event on their official Facebook page.[10] On April 15, the day of the scheduled brawl, Ace Hardware prepared a small mock boxing ring where customers could take photos. The date also coincidentally fell within a 3-day mallwide sale at SM City Lucena.[11] [12]
Leigh Reyes, President and COO of MullenLowe Philippines, an advertising agency,[13] criticized Ace Hardware's stern reaction to the tongue-in-cheek event, saying that disavowing any involvement and condemning those who organized the stunt is not an effective business strategy, but fame is. Reyes suggested using the ensuing publicity to their strategic advantage by offering discounts to actual attendees, for example.[14]
Curiously, Ace Hardware later took actions consistent to Reyes' insights, and capitalized on the fame brought by the event.