AVATAR Plastic Con – the 2010 non-event

I’ve never wanted to slap a celebrity before.
Especially not one I admire.
However when I saw the so-called “Tree of Souls” (‘real life’, they said) at Hyde Park yesterday, I wanted to get hold of James Cameron personally and give him a royal kick up the bum.

Perhaps I shouldn’t have been surprised.
Perhaps I shouldn’t have been disappointed.
Yet I was and worse still, so were the 20 or so friends I had so enthusiastically encouraged to come along on a raining, grey Sunday evening.

The “Tree of Souls” in AVATAR is the life line of the planet and the people. It is beautiful and inspiring; vast & alive in it’s energy.
“Life Like” the PR behind 20th Century Fox exclaimed as they announced the one-off ‘replica’to be built in Hyde Park. A replica that was to use 20 miles of fibre optic cabling, was fully interactive, that would shimmer and throb with the energy of us mere mortals (as we connected our phones by Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, anyway. Still sounded good to me)
I raced to organise my friends attendance – wanted them all to know about this amazing creation, built to celebrate the launch of AVATAR on Blue-Ray.
A ‘replica’ that was only going to be in place for three days.

I jumped about on various forums – AVATAR fan pages etc and found the Americans were up in arms; disappointed & envious that Londons Hyde Park had been chosen to host this ‘spectacular’ event.
Rest easy, my American friends, for the joke – a tasteless plastic one at that – is on us.

James Cameron, 20th Century Fox, AVATAR.
These three names – brands – have come to represent quality, entertainment, yes?

We couldn’t have stood further from these things yesterday. On the asphalt corner of Speakers Corner yesterday stood a plastic tree. Halfway down the trunk a 17″ screen was attached. From the six or so branches (I may be being generous – it might have been four or five branches) hung a few strands of fibre optic cabling. It looked like string blowing in the cold grey light of a damp Sunday.
The promises of being able to attach our mobile phones to the tree and send a message, of being able to sponsor a planting of a tree failed – at least for Blackberry & HTC owners. My iPhone fan friends had more success.
The crowds listening to the Speakers ranting at Speakers Corner were bigger than those at the Tree – and were indeed more enthused.
I typically, had rocked up with my camera but on seeing the Tree didn’t take a single snap shot.

James, if either yourself or one of your close advisor’s should read this, please get hold of the so-called brain behind this ‘non-event’ and sack them. They failed, beyond belief, to do anyone – 20th Century Fox, yourself, AVATAR or even a fans enthusiasm – justice.

My friend summed it up beautifully on my Facebook when she wrote and thanked me for the “most disappointing experience of her life“.