February 20, 2008
Cash Tomato To Give Away Cash, Tomatoes In Dolores Park This Saturday...Just Because
Yowza! Yowza! Yowza! This Saturday afternoon at Dolores Park, Cash Tomato, a San Francisco "video sharing website that gives weekly large cash prizes to its highest rated videos," is giving away free cash. According to the press release, "from 10 a.m. to 1 a.m. the general public will be
able to find hundreds of tomatoes hidden in Dolores Park (map) San Francisco, each and every one with cash attached." Nifty.
In addition to the "cash tomatoes," they will also be "handing out even more cash on the same day, between the hours of 10am and 1pm. The tomato team will then move to Powell and Marketand give away lots more free money to Saturday shoppers. They will request nothing in return, literally a free cash giveaway."
This is fantastic news. Hey, here's an idea: SFist readers, print out the press release and hand it to one of the many homeless guys and gals lacing the streets of San Francisco. Surely they could use some free cash, yes? Yes.
For the full press release, follow the jump.
Hundreds of tomatoes with cash attached to be hidden around Dolores Park,San Francisco, CA - Saturday February 23rd, 10am.On Saturday February 23rd from 10am onwards the general public will be able to find hundreds of tomatoes hidden in Dolores Park San Francisco,each and every one with cash attached. Literally free money. The tomatoes will be left by members of cashtomato.com, a San Francisco based video sharing website that gives weekly large cash prizes to it's highest rated videos.
As well as hiding hundreds of 'cash tomatoes' the team will be visible around the park handing out even more cash on the same day, between the hours of 10am and 1pm. The tomato team will then move to Powell and Marketand give away lots more free money to Saturday shoppers. They will request nothing in return, literally a free cash giveaway.
Cashtomato has already given away thousands of dollars in the United Kingdom where they hid tomatoes around University campuses in January and gave free money to students.
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Let's protest this event.
Tomatoes are obviously not in season, so they are being brought in from far away places, probably sprayed with pesticides, grown in a non-organic, non-sustainably farmed, non-biodynamic environment, and many fossil fuels were burned to deliver these insipid examples of tomatoes (gassed with ethylene) and local growers don't get any of the money.
Stop the tomato injustice!
So are you trying to throw us off by saying it takes place Sunday in the headline?
no, that was just my air-filled head working its magic.
but, god, what a great idea. alas.
I hope the cash is waterproof, considering the forecast for Saturday.
Every single video sharing site either has, or will fail, because like, er y'know there's this thing called YouTube. But hey, enjoy this dumb idea while it's still alive and think of all those people who are still owed by other failed video sharing sites that promised them cash.
I can picture it now: A mob of up-too-early crackheads stumble-stalking the tomato hiders as they deploy their wares. The huffy dog-owner, freaking out becasue FiFi nearly took a bite of a potentially-GMO tomato. The just-mugged intern holding back his tears while his assailant strolls down 18th with a messenger bag full of small bills and soon-to-be-trashed produce.
If I were on that PR street-team, I'd be praying for rain.
Wow, I was going to make a cynical comment, but I think you nailed it, syonsici.
Do pigs like tomatoes? Maybe we can make this like a truffle hunt. As long as the pigs don't chew up the cash...
"Hundreds of tomatoes hidden in Dolores Park"? Except for the bushes along Church Street and the bathrooms, this park probably has the fewest hiding places of any park in SF. It's going to be more of a mad-dash smack down than a hunt. Love how they don't say what denomination the cash is: if it's coins, run for safety the next time they mow the lawn...
Presumably they are going to use invisible elves to hide the tomatoes and cash.
they did this before on Powell and Sutter downtown. At first they were giving out $5 bills and they switched to $1 bills....plus, the tomatoes aren't real tomatoes. They're little promo cards that look like tomatoes. Which might be worse with all the paper they're wasting.
they did this before on Powell and Sutter downtown. At first they were giving out $5 bills and they switched to $1 bills....plus, the tomatoes aren't real tomatoes. They're little promo cards that look like tomatoes. Which might be worse with all the paper they're wasting.
Police try to stop people giving away free money.
Hey guys, I am part of cashtomato.com, see our just released press release.
This Saturday 23rd February at 10am, we had planned to hide hundreds of tomatoes with cash attached in Dolores park, a tomato/cash treasure hunt if you will. Yesterday, 21st February we received an email from SFPD telling us that we are unable to do this, that by giving away money within the park we would be breaking the law. Incredible but true.
After a conversation with Sgt McDowell and the parks department we discovered it is illegal to hide/give out money in the park, and that to do so we would require a permit, an events permit, even though we do not consider this an event, merely a giving away of fruit and money. We
We were informed in no uncertain terms that were we to proceed, we would be subject to arrest, however, the police department could not / would not give us the penal code citing the crime we would be committing.
However, apparently and somewhat contradictorily it is NOT illegal to give money away on the streets, so this event will go ahead as planned, now with money being given away around the perimeter of the park, but not, for legal reasons within the park limits.
For more information, contact Jason Buzi
Email, jason@cashtomato.com
Phone: Landline: 415-814-2925
Cell phone: 408-921-2048
See related press items:
http://sfist.com/2008/02/20/cash_tomato.php
http://blogs.sfweekly.com/shookdown/2008/02/index.php?page=2
Cashtomato has already given away thousands of dollars in the United
Kingdom where they hid tomatoes, with absolutely no police interruption, in around University campuses and at major London landmarks. They also give away free cash to every registered user.
I smell Dot Bomb 2.0
Wow, http://consumerist.com/362689/worst-promotion-ever-causes-riot-in-union-square-as-hipsters-fight-for-cash+wrapped-tomatoes
Anyone feel bad that the "lets hand out the flyers to homeless people" approach pretty much turned this promotion into a raging mob of homeless people fighting over tomatoes?
Thats just halarious