Millions of people live around the shores of Lake Ontario, and many were very concerned of the possibility of a shark in the fresh-water lake. Only after much public fear did the Discovery Channel reveal it was a marketing stunt. "It was really a fun summer stunt that we thought people would engage with " Perhaps they aren't aware that the large Bull shark species can live quite well in fresh water.
Photo Credit: Youtube vid grab

“Shark” marketing hoax raises ire

The video posted on youtube on July 10 and shows three men fishing off a dock at the eastern tip of Lake Ontario at Wolfe Island, near Kingston.

As one reels in a fish, a large, finned, shark-like creature looms from the water to snatch the fish.

The idea that a shark might be lurking in the fresh water lake frightened many people in southern Ontario where the Lake is a very popular swimming and boating destination.

However, only yesterday was it revealed to be a marketing stunt.

Discovery Canada, a specialty TV channel which is owned by broadcasting giant Bell Media, said it was a fake shark and part of their marketing campaign to promote an upcoming series called “shark week”.

Marketing stunt: fail

Many people are now angry at the hoax.

The Premier of Ontario, Kathleen Wynn has weighed in saying that people who produce such things need to use common sense when they attempt to frighten people

The people behind the video decided to reveal the hoax after seeing the public reaction of fear over the possibility of a shark in the lake.

Discovery Canada, which is owned by broadcasting giant Bell Media,

Of the stunt, Discovery president Paul Lewis  is quoted in the Canadian Press saying, “There was no anticipation on our side to cause any kind of fear or upset at all,” he said. “It was really a fun summer stunt that we thought people would engage with.”

It is the second marketing stunt to fail completely this month.

A beer company campaign, Coors Canada, caused major rush hour disruption in Canada’s biggest city, Toronto, on July 8.

That campaign involved a briefcase chained to a pole at a major city intersection.

Thousands of commuters were delayed as the bomb squad was called to investigate and traffic was re-routed causing major disruption until the situation was resolved.

Many people tweeted they were so upset at the delays that they would never buy that beer again.

The briefcase was part of what was to be a month long challenge to find prizes using an online map and Twitter.

The company later apologized and said the campaign was complete and a new one would be introduced – in bars- in coming weeks.

It should be noted that the idea of sharks in a fresh water lake is not impossible. Most sharks cannot survive in fresh water. That is not the case for the large bull shark. These been spotted more than 1000km up the Amazon, in Lake Nicaragua, and have been spotted in the Mississippi up to St Louis and in the Illinois almost to Lake Michigan, one of the Great Lakes, as is Lake Ontario.

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