Even before it officially opened its doors to the public, Ball Pit Manila already had more than 28,000 likes on Facebook. According to a report by the Business World, 3,000 people already paid for slots even before seeing the actual ball pit area.
This innovative “event installation” created by Pretty Penny Production banks on nostalgia. The target market? Adults (with purchasing power) who are happy to find a playground where they can be kids again.
Now, comes the interesting part.
The photo they used for promotion was not the actual Ball Pit installation in Manila. The owners’ friends took photos of a ball pit in New York, and used those for their social media campaign.
The strategy proved to be effective, and the management of Ball Pit was sure to get the return of investment (ROI) even before they opened.
Clever? Deceptive? You decide.
“The photos were actually of Jump In!, an interactive art installation inspired by playful snowy scenes and mounted by London-headquartered creative design agency Pearlfisher,” said Katrina Kay Lacap, one of Ball Pit’s owners, to Business World.
The photos and videos of Jump In! have been removed from Ball Pit’s Facebook and YouTube. They have been replaced by the actual photos of the Manila site.
In an e-mail to Business World, Karen Welman, the chief intellectual property officer of Pearlfisher called “intellectual property theft”. She said that the photos used by Ball Pit were actually taken by Pearlfisher staff for personal use.
Pearlfisher has issued a cease and desist legal letter.
However, Ms. Lacap thinks there are no grounds for any legal action. “Really, you can’t trademark a ball pit. It’s everywhere. For us it’s too vague. It’s too wide.” she said.
Ms. Welman also questioned Ball Pit’s safety measures. The 81,000 balls in the Pearlfisher installation were “motor sensor and soft white balls”. On the other hand, the ones used by Ball Pit are all plastic.
Here’s another striking difference emphasized by Ms. Welman. Pearlfisher’s Jump In! was a charity installation with part of the profits going to Right to Play, an organization that encourages children to play in the midst of adversity.
Ball Pit, on the other hand, is a business venture. In a statement sent to Coconuts Manila, Ball Pit said that they will continue operations in spite of the issue with Pearlfisher.
Coconuts Manila has reached out to Ball Pit and Pearlfisher for additional comments and statements. We will update this story when we hear from them.
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