Nothing is really “free” in life. Sure, there might be free trials or free samples, but you end up paying for it one way or another when karma comes back around. So when a hot dog chain promises a free meet and greet with your child’s favorite animated dog, you really can’t expect much, though people sure did.
Dirt Dog, a regional hot dog chain on the west coast, held a Bluey-themed event over the weekend that promised face painting, games, and treats based on the insanely popular pup and her family. Only that is not what they were given.
The Facebook event quickly went viral with thousands of Bluey fans responding to the event. Unfortunately, there was no cute pup, but a Dirt Dog employee wearing a Bluey onesie with his face uncovered. As one mortified child put it: “He looked, like, unexpected. We could see his beard.”
Parents were upset, flooding to Facebook to express their disappointment with the event. “The kids were distraught. Some kids were crying. Some kids were upset, crying in their parents’ shoulders,” mother Stephanie Hernandez told Fox 5. “How could you do that to little kids: advertise something so fun and eventful for kids ranging from toddlers to six, seven years old, and not actually follow through with it? It was a very upsetting moment to see so many kids, especially my daughter, just really upset,” she said.
Many are comparing this unfortunate fumble with the infamous Wonka “experience” fiasco of March 2024, which will go down in the history books.
While thousands responded to Dirt Dog’s Facebook event, the restaurant didn’t think that many people would show up. “We expected like maybe 50 to 60 people–not in the sense of like the whole city coming out. Just now knowing who Bluey is, we would have planned ahead and would have had security,” Taj Wilder, a spokesperson for marketing for the restaurant, told the local news.
The restaurant released a statement on their social media, apologizing for the confusion. “We are truly sorry this event wasn’t the expected experience,” the statement read. “We were overwhelmed with the turn out to this event.”
The moral of this story? Never underestimate the power of Bluey again.