Man Spends Day Trolling Outraged Target Customers

Target may have even enjoyed it
By Michael Harthorne,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 14, 2015 5:00 PM CDT
Man Spends Day Trolling Outraged Target Customers
Screenshot of a fake Target spokesperson responding to complaints on the real Target Facebook page.   (Facebook)

Facebook users angry at Target over the company's decision to remove gender-specific signs from its toy departments found themselves at the wrong end of a pranking courtesy of one enterprising Arizona man. Ars Technica reports Mike Melgaard created a Facebook account under the name "Ask ForHelp" this week and started responding to complaints posted to the company's page with jokes and sarcastic dismissals. ("Sherry, we apologize for nothing. NOTHING.") Simply by using a Target logo as a profile picture, Melgaard was able to fool mostly everyone into thinking he was a customer service rep while responding to more than 50 comments over about 16 hours. You can read them here.

Adweek spoke to Melgaard, a self-described "pot-stirrer," who said that when he found out Target was removing its gender-specific signage, he knew people would be rushing to its Facebook page to express outrage. He said he pulled the stunt more for laughs than to make a political statement, though he does support Target's decision to remove the signage. As for Target, the company distanced itself from Melgaard in a press release, though Adweek points out it just happened to post a photo celebrating "trolls" to its Facebook page yesterday. (More Target stories.)

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