Mascotgate: More to the Story

It appears that the iPhone day incident between a television news producer and a charity mascot seems to be more than that it appears. The mascot, from a group that calls itself Hungrr was involved in a verbal altercation with the producer and was then asked to move along by the police. Watch the video for yourself, here.

Here is what we know: WNBC released a statement yesterday afternoon saying: "We looked into this serious matter thoroughly and are confident that the man in the video is not affiliated with WNBC. It's unfortunate that the incident took place in front of our NewsChannel 4 van, as there were many media outlets in the area covering the iPhone story."

A search of several charity watchdog websites reveals that Hungrr is not in fact a charity and a search of the New York State Department of State Division of Corporations database does not contain the name of the entity on the Hungrr website, Hunger, LLC. The domain also has a private registration, but the website reveals that the group was founded by one Owen Plotkin, they want to raise awareness about hunger, that Hungrr is a registered trademark, and they sell stuff where they donate the after tax profits "to organizations and individuals fighting hunger in their communities". No physical address, or telephone number are given in the contact information (as is standard with charity groups) is given, there is just an e-mail address.

The Hungrr website says on the bottom of most pages "site by the now corporation", which is a Manhattan advertising firm. We found no hyperlinks on the Hungrr site to the company, however a visit to the main page of the now corporation website revealed the face of a certain orange mascot and one of the employees listed with spot demos is Owen Plotkin, who apparently produces television commercials for the company. Also, the firm appears to be involved in viral marketing campaigns and Plotkin even served as a jury chair for the 2005 Viral Awards.

A page on the now corporation website cites Plotkin as the creator and claims ownership of the group calling them "the now corporation’s street art activists". Not that you would have figured this out by just taking a look at the Hungrr website, where there is no mention of the connection, even on the site's about page, save for the cryptic and unlinked "site by the now corporation" on the bottom of the page. Additionally, the now corporation touts the number of YouTube views the video of a previous Hungrr incident at MOMA got.

Even more interesting is that the address of the company, 7 West 22 Street, 6th Floor is identical to address given by Plotkin to the United States Patent and Trademark Office for the service mark registration of Hungrr. And to add to it, a anonymous commenter on the original post about the video stated: "Hungrr is about hunger awareness. Check out http://Hungrr.com and click the About tab. Yes, we have day jobs. If one wishes to think this constitutes some shady conspiracy to force
tv guys to act like jerks, so be it."

Still, the television producer, who apparently is not in the employ of WNBC, did seem to overreact and the police response may have been a bit over the top. The iPhone is listed on eBay with 100% of proceeds going to the Northwest Louisiana Foodbank, as well. We're left with more questions than answers, so this appears to be developing. We asked for a statement from Hungrr yesterday but as of now have not received one. Perhaps they are just using the viral video craze to draw more attention to the charity?

UPDATE: Jossip reports that the news crew "was actually the G4 network, whose Attack of the Show was there doing a spot. Host Zach Selwyn can be seen in the orange shirt making the fist."

UPDATE: Owen has left a comment explaining "Hungrr is NOT a non profit. It is NOT a charity." They've also changed their about page.