Getting one ad agency to pony up

What little girl doesn’t want a pony? I know I did. She was to be cotton-candy pink and named Princess Priscilla. In fact, any time we pass by a horse farm, I still press my nose to the car window and let out a high-pitched squeal, prompting my husband to call me his “child bride.” Had I been as imaginative and insistent as the girl who has defiled Indianapolis ad agency Bradley and Montgomery’s Web site, perhaps I would have gotten one. Dial up the Web site and you see the remnants of what an ad shop’s site should look like, graffitied with dancing bunnies, galloping ponies and animated hearts. Above the shop’s banner, in rainbow letters, is the demand, “I want a pony!!!!” along with text that explains, “Until my Dad gets me a pony, I am going to wreck like a ton of websites. Don’t blame me. It’s my Dad’s fault.” Of course, had I been this particular little girl, I’d be the alter ego of the creative staff of Bradley and Montgomery, who had to update their site but chafed at the idea of a boilerplate “Under Construction” notice. “We loved the idea of an 11-year-old girl as an Internet terrorist,” says partner Scott Montgomery. Motivated visitors can e-mail the girl’s father, “Dr. Suppan,” who responds that he had nothing to do with this. The site went up about a week ago and was supposed to come down after a few days, but a wave of feedback, including offers of help from benevolent tech guys, convinced the 16-person shop to leave it up a little longer. Check out BradleyandMontgomery.com for the bunny-free real deal.

—Posted by Deanna Zammit

August 25, 2005 | Permalink