A popular Las Vegas restaurant chain was issued a cease and desist after it hosted a calamitous Bluey themed event for families.
Dirt Dog put on a free event on May 11 that advertised games, treats, face painting, and the chance to meet Bluey – a popular n children’s cartoon dog.
However, the operation went downhill when hundreds of parents and children lined up down the block to meet Bluey, only to be greeted by ‘a guy in a onesie,’ as described by one off-put customer.
The restaurant offered to host a redo event, but will no longer be able to because the shows exclusive licensee BBC Studios order a cease and desist of the event.
They said the unauthorized event is ‘likely to cause confusion and harm BBC Studios, Ludo Studio, and the BLUEY franchise,’ according a copy of the letter obtained by FOX5.
‘BBC Studios has learned from press reports that you held a prior BLUEY DAY event that “descended into chaos” with crying children and disappointed parents,’ the legal document said.
‘To prevent all further harm, BBC Studios demands that you cancel all planned BLUEY DAY events and that you immediately and permanently cease offering any services or products in connection with or that use in any way the BLUEY mark, any confusingly similar variations thereof, and/or any images of characters that are the exclusive intellectual property of Ludo Studio.’
Outraged customers had previously flooded the restaurant’s Facebook page with negative reviews of the event.
Patrons said the face painting was done poorly by the untrained staff of the dining establishment, and the treats for the kids were gone before everyone made it inside.
Some parents also complained about the cleanliness of the restaurant and the guy inside the Bluey costume’s apparent disinterest in the kids.
‘I get it needed to be quick designs, but whiskers and a paw print? The promised “treats” were cupcakes you needed to pay for. We saw no games and no activities,’ wrote one parent.
‘Temu Bluey costume and decorations from Dollar Tree featured at Dirt Dog Las Vegas Rainbow! Thanks for ruining my 3-year-old’s day!’ wrote another scorned mother.
‘My son was heartbroken & I already drove 45min. We love dirt dog… but this time my friends you messed up. Bad Marketing, bad thinking, you really let my son down,’ wrote a third.
Dirt Dog responded to the news of the cease and desist saying they only had good intentions and plan on hosting other non-Bluey themed community events.
‘With a heavy heart, we have to announce that we can no longer host a Bluey event for our community, the staff from Las Vegas to Los Angeles are completely disappointed with this news,’ the restaurant said.
‘We only had the purest intentions to give back to those around us. We sincerely hope the Vegas community will forgive us and continue to support us as we are still pushing forward in our community involvement.
‘We will continue to host more family events to give back to the families that continue to support us. We will be hosting our Farmers Market for our local entrepreneurs on June 29, 2024, including a coloring station for kids, carnival games, free slushies and so much more.’
‘We hope everyone affected by the previous event will come out and support small businesses in our community.’