Whooga Unban Ugg Boots Campaign Takes An Ugly Turn

SYDNEY, Feb. 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- In the last week according to Google news over 300 sources have covered a Pottstown schools ban on ugg boots, thousands have formed an online twitter campaign to unban ugg boots (#unbanuggboots), and a joke has turned incredibly sour. Just over a week ago Pottstown middle school imposed a seemingly insignificant ban on ugg boots in an attempt to stop kids smuggling phones.

Whooga ugg boots, an alternative ugg boot brand read about the story shortly after it broke and decided to form a petition to unban the boots. If enough people signed the petition Whooga vowed to send the School's principal, Gail Cooper a pair of Chestnut tall ugg boots. Inside the ugg boots Gail would find smuggled the electronic signatures of everyone who participated in the campaign. In a little over 24hrs the #unbanuggboots campaign had become a viral hit. It was now up to Whooga to fulfil its part of the bargain and send Gail a pair of boots.

While Whooga was preparing all 99 printed pages of electronic signatures a source was obtaining Gail's shoe size. It was at this point Whooga learned Gail was not seeing the humour in the gesture.  Whooga technical director Michael Hodge stated "We had a source getting Gail's foot size; it was at this point we had discovered just how seriously people had taken things. Apparently poor Gail had received threats directed towards her children, something we find absolutely appalling. At this point we killed the campaign."

"Ugg boots have been a controversial item for over a decade now and they continue to attract intense debate. We believe the events were an unfortunately potent mix of Australian humour and a polarizing Australian icon. In any event ugg boots are ugg boots and something we simply need to put into perspective," said Hodge.