A social media firestorm began Friday over a Bradenton tourism group's support for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
- Lightning fans angry over rally towels sponsored by Bradenton CVB
- #BoycottBradenton trended over the weekend
- Lightning and the Penguins tied in Game 2 Monday
#BoycottBradenton trended online after Tampa Bay Lightning fans discovered that the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau sponsored a ‘terrible towel’ for the Penguins.
The Penguins and Lightning are currently playing in the NHL Eastern Conference final.
On Monday, Executive Director Elliot Falcion took full responsibility for what many believe to be an ill-timed marketing decision.
"I stand here being the sole responsible person who negotiated and cut the advertising deal for the Bradenton area," Falcione said during the press conference. "It doesn't represent my staff, the residents of Bradenton or the governments of Bradenton."
According to the Bradenton Herald, Falcione spent $6,000 to place Bradenton-area advertising on 20,000 of the Penguin's yellow rally towels – a keepsake he believed Penguin fans would keep for years to come.
"They like to save things and they like to collect items," Falcione said to the Herald. "They like memorabilia. If we can keep our brand on that towel and they keep it as a souvenir in their house for many years, any time they want to come on vacation specifically to Florida, hopefully they'll think of Bradenton, Anna Maria Island and Longboat Key."
Falcione assured the money for the towels did not cut into the $100,000 the CVB budgeted for the Lightning games, and instead came from a separate advertising account.