Feasterville-Trevose, Pa.–based retailer Opulent Jewelers is offering a promotion just for victims of the Ashley Madison hack.
Ashley Madison, the website that caters to adulterers, was hacked in July, and on Aug. 18 the hackers posted millions of customer data files to the web, searchable by email address.
Opulent Jewelers is offering victims of the hack a $500 discount if they spend $10,000 or more on jewelry—presumably for the spouse they were planning to cheat on.
In a blog post on its website, the company shared that the promotion—which it is calling the Ashley Madison Hack Victim Backup Plan—was inspired by a similar promotion from 1-800-Flowers catering to victims of the hack.
“While [the 1-800-Flowers promotion] was a hilarious marketing ploy, we thought that a bouquet of flowers just wasn’t going to cut it,” the company wrote. “We thought we would jump on the bandwagon not because we’re shameless, but because we actually have the level of gift you should be really thinking about. We think the 1-800-Flowers offer should be accompanied by our fine jewelry in order to stand any chance with your significant other.”
One item they’ve singled out as perfect for the occasion (and the promotion): a $250,000 Bulgari Ballerina diamond ring in platinum.
“While we don’t condone cheating here at Opulent Jewelers, we are still often found helping a client pick out something lavish for what we can only describe as their ‘wrongdoings,’ ” the post said.
The unique promotion, which launched Aug. 20, has not yet generated any sales, but founder Jonathan Yedwabnik told JCK that interest has been piqued.
“While no one has officially reached out, we’ve had an influx of over 30,000 unique visitors yesterday with a couple hundred new account setups,” he said.
The promotion has also generated buzz of a different kind.
“To be honest, we’ve seen a fair bit of negative feedback in a few online forums and Reddit comments about it,” he said. “We stated that we do not condone cheating, but the fact is there were tens of millions of users on that site, and it seems a veil has been lifted on the subject. It just so happens our generation associates jewelry as a gift you get someone when you’re not only celebrating, but as a gift of guilt. We certainly are aware the promotion is going to leave a bad taste in some people’s mouths, but we’re willing to take that risk and have a little fun while doing it. In a situation like this there are a few industries that are just naturally going to benefit from it.”
Yedwabnik says that getting to know your customers is a big part of his business, but that it is rare for a cheating spouse to explicitly share that with the jeweler. “We get to know our customers quite well, and they usually explain what the item is for,” he said. “Cheating and infidelity are usually not the case though. [It’s more often] husbands who forgot an anniversary or said something inept that had them stuck sleeping on the couch.”
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