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• File this one under Marketing Ideas Gone Wrong: Speech Academy Asia in Singapore planted clowns outside multiple primary schools in early September in an effort to persuade students to enroll in public-speaking courses, The Straits Times reported.
In response, principals and parents urged students to stay away from strangers, including the clowns. Kelvin Tan, the director of the academy, apologized for alarming people.
He explained that "road show" employees were told to put on "cute mascot" costumes, but he wasn't aware they'd be wearing clown getups.
"Maybe the clowns were too scary. It's wrong and we won't do it again," he said. [Straits Times, 9/20/2021]