He didn't do it. I mean, he didn't do it in Times Square.
Earlier this week I blogged about David Seaman, author of "Dirty Little Secrets of Buzz," who promised to appear nude in Times Square today if his book didn't break the Amazon.com Top 100 list. I suggested this was a reason NOT to buy the book, because, well, if you wanted to force him to appear naked in public, then keep his book off the bestseller list!
I contacted Seaman earlier in the week and told him I wanted to know how this whole thing would play out. Would he make good on his threat? While the stunt created enough "buzz" to sell some books, it's still listed around #60,000 on Amazon's list.
Today, I got my answer: an email and this photo of him naked poolside in Florida. By the way, the pool appears empty. A teeming Times Square this is not.
Seaman wrote me that his press release created the "buzz" he intended, leading to interviews "from literally all over the world," including my blog. "Was this stunt retarded?" he writes,"Sure it was, but it also sold books -- just as I knew it would."
So why no Times Square unveiling? "As things started to *really* heat up the other day," he says, "I got an email from my editor asking that I not do anything that would result in an arrest. And as more people in the media demanded that I get on with the crazy stunt at Times Sq, the less I felt inclined to do it (tell me to do something and I won't)." Oh.
Bawk bawk bawk bawk bawk...
So, what to do? "I had to do something embarrassing," Seaman admits, "to atone for the mortal sin of not hitting Amazon's Top 100 within 72 hours, for not kicking Joel Osteen's a**." Hence, he shot the photo by the pool.
Lame? Yes.
On the other hand, he's now appeared in Funny Business twice! Even though I'm mocking him! "Successful buzz marketing is about going beyond your comfort zone," Seaman says, "doing something crazy, and getting international coverage." Mission accomplished!
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