A couple of weeks ago, we reported on a handful of unlucky Switch 2 customers who rocked up to their local GameStop on launch day only to find their console screens punctured by a poorly-placed staple. Keen to escape the hot water that such a fiasco (rightfully) landed the company in, GameStop attempted to make light of the situation with a new advertisement announcing console restocks in its stores, but the joke has only ended up pinning more trouble on the company. Tut, tut.
We'll start with the self-deprecating promo itself. GameStop proudly announced its Switch 2 restocks with the new tagline, "Staples not included". The accompanying picture in the company's announcement tweet shows a Switch 2 unit suspended in mid-air, with a red stapler brandishing a "Do Not Use On Box" message in the foreground.
While perhaps a bit insensitive to those unlucky enough to land a punctured unit, it's just about self-critical enough that we cracked a little smile when we first saw it. "Fair play, GameStop," we thought to ourselves, "you might just bounce back from this"...
Whoops, spoke too soon! As it turns out, GameStop forgot to staple some photo credit to its funny little promo. That cool image of the floating Switch 2? It ain't GameStop's to use.
As pointed out on Twitter by Bloomberg's Chris Welch, the snap was originally taken by photographer Janelle Jones for Bloomberg. It even takes centre stage on the outlet's console review, for crying out loud! All GameStop did was crudely edit a picture of a stapler over the OG's dock without credit or mention. You can see it for yourself in Welch's tweet below — spoiler: it's not a good look for ol' GS.
As it stands, the GameStop promo is still live on the store's social media accounts, but we imagine it will only be a matter of time before that quietly disappears from our feeds. Sigh, only GameStop could manage to land itself in more hot water while attempting to make light of a previous slip-up.