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Amazon is selling gas for 30 cents to promote Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and police had to intervene

Amazon is selling gas for 30 cents to promote Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and police had to intervene

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‘Maisel Day’ did not go as planned

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Amazon’s latest marketing campaign for the Prime Video series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel has not gone as planned, with the Santa Monica Police briefly shutting down a 30-cents-per-gallon promotion for gas due to traffic delays caused by eager customers, according to ABC 7 reporter John Gregory. The promotion has since resumed, with Amazon now working with the city to limit the number of cars in line to keep traffic running.

The absurdly cheap gas promotion was part of “Maisel Day,” a marketing campaign from Amazon as part of its attempt to highlight the show (and its 20 Emmy nominations) ahead of the awards ceremony next month. The online retailer partnered with local Santa Monica businesses to roll back prices on things like gasoline, hotel rooms, movie tickets, milkshakes, and more to what they would have cost in 1959, when the show is set — hence, the ultra-cheap gas.

Unfortunately, it seems that the allure of filling up a tank at 30 cents a gallon was just too much for the motorists of Santa Monica — police have issued traffic warnings recommending locals avoid the area, and apparently shut down the promotion at one point due to the disruption it caused, although its since resumed. Presumably, a few of the other LA-based promotions for Maisel Day, like 30-cent hot dogs at iconic Hollywood stand Pink’s and 51-cent movie tickets at the Bay Theatre, didn’t force law enforcement to get involved.

It’s not the first time Amazon has offered 1950s-era pricing to promote the show, either. The company teamed up with the Carnegie Deli to offer discounted sandwiches in New York ahead of the season 2 premiere last winter. But that promotion went far smoother — presumably because people crowding a deli isn’t as disruptive as accidentally shutting down an entire intersection full of cars.

Update August 15th, 3:41pm: Amazon has since resumed the promotion with a more organized line for the discounted gas.