Suntukan sa Ace Hardware

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.

Background

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. More than 54,000 Facebook users said that they would go to the event, while around 36,000 expressed interest.

Response

Ace Hardware

On March 31, Ace Hardware Corporation denied any involvement in the event. 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.
On April 4 and 11, 2016, Ace Hardware, in an act that reversed their earlier condemnation, posted a countdown and released a poster for the fictitious event on their official Facebook page. 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.

Advertising industry

Leigh Reyes, President and COO of MullenLowe Philippines, an advertising agency, 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. Curiously, this advice was later heeded by the mall, taking advantage of the upcoming sale.