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Company "Gives Back" To Google By Serving Up 1000 Free Pizzas to Google

cambrianhouse.com — In an effort to basically give thanks to where it's deserved, Cambrianhouse.com has ventured uninvited onto the Google HQ property with 1000 free Pizzas for Googlers.

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  • obeattie, on 10/12/2007, -7/+22Yeah! Google is ace, and so are these guys. Can't think of employees of company more deserving.
    • demonhunter999, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=2611684613035575342
    • brundlefly76, on 10/12/2007, -3/+23Gee, that was a nice gesture, but at about $7000 cost probably one of the cheapest networking and viral advertising moves of recently memory - why else produce a move about it?

    • Mesach, on 10/12/2007, -0/+22Wait, giving free pizza to a companies employees that already gets free gourmet food everyday.

      Where is this a treat?
    • Ryosen, on 10/12/2007, -1/+17Probably for the same reason that Richie Sambora left Heather Locklear: sometimes you just get tired of eating prime rib every day. :)

      What I find interesting is how easy it would be for Microsoft to walk on to the Googleplex and poison the entire staff of Google, Inc. with a free lunch.
    • CharlesDarwin, on 10/12/2007, -1/+12Was this pizza free as in speech, or free as in beer?
    • M2Ys4U, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Ryosen: There was an article WAY back on Digg about Yahoo! staff doing that.
    • themastersb, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2The narrator talking through the video sounded like a douchebag.
  • teckjunkie, on 10/12/2007, -1/+82Google was unaware while being distracted by a 1000 free pizzas Cambrianhouse.com had ninjas enter the google building to steal valuable information and servers.
  • MaxS, on 10/12/2007, -5/+23Haha.

    Yea, I just thought this company deserves the publicity. This is a really creative PR stunt.
    • graystar, on 10/12/2007, -4/+40Now that is what you call ad sense.
  • alen3000, on 10/12/2007, -4/+51Why isn`t their website using Google Video system instead of Youtube if they really love it so much ?
  • MaxS, on 10/12/2007, -2/+21Notice the "* Also posted on Google Video" part
  • i440, on 10/12/2007, -27/+1I make homemade pizzas. They are really good! Wayy better then that greasy Pizza Hut stuff.
  • stuffhappens, on 10/12/2007, -3/+22"In an effort to get some free, media stunt, publicity, Cambrianhouse.com has ventured uninvited onto the Google HQ property with 1000 free Pizzas for Googlers."

    There, fixed it for you.
    • jackcall, on 10/12/2007, -3/+10PR stunt? Yes, but free? no. That's probably $7-8k in pizzas...
    • mozzep, on 10/12/2007, -8/+3free as in they didn't pay for the publicity... you know... like advertisements.
    • dhuck, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5even if it was a PR thing, it was interesting enough to get on digg

      sounds like money well spent to me
    • CharlesDarwin, on 10/12/2007, -2/+11"interesting enough to get on digg" = has Google in the title
    • stuffhappens, on 10/12/2007, -4/+4"That's probably $7-8k in pizzas..."

      Not when you buy 1000 in one go it isn't - probably more like $2500
    • andburn1, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5@stuffhappens - Where the hell did you get that number? Yes, they probably got a serious discount, and that's fair to say, but don't go around making ***** up. Neither you nor I know how much it cost them, so don't speculate.
    • barc0001, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2@stuffhappens:

      No way. When I worked for a pizza chain in the late 80's, our food costs were $3 a 10", $4 for a 12" and $6 for a 14" pizza. I can't imagine that costs have gone down since then, so I'd have to estimate that if the parlors did it at cost, you're still looking at around 7 or 8 grand. Retail, probably closer to 10 - 12 grand.

    • CircleFusion, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3@barc001, I worked for a pizza place for about 10 months only 6 years ago. I spoke the owner a couple times about offering deals to local organizations. He and I talked about the cost of the pizza. He said the ingredients ended up about $1.50 - $2.00 per pizza. He even had more expensive ingredients than typical pizza joints, like fresh soft mozzarella, pesto sauce, portabello mushrooms, barbeque chicken, etc. Unless they got an extra large pizza with lots of toppings, the cost of the pizza would be below $2.00 on average. The cost of running a pizza joint is overhead. Paying for drivers, frontdesk workers, accountant, attorney, rent, electricity, gas, phones, computer system, oven, bigass mixer (if making your own dough), etc. That is the stuff that racks up the price of pizza.

      They offered a large pizza, 1 topping carry out for $4.99. With overhead, his cost was probably $3.10 or something.

      I'll bet the pizza place enjoyed the publicity as well and gave a discount for that as well as the bulk discount. How much do you think that publicity would be worth to that pizza place?
  • dw2005, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9On the Cambrian House about page:
    "It's like Open Source, but with Money!"

    not for long
  • yensed, on 10/12/2007, -12/+5Now thats talent! Accept after all that time, the pizza must have been really cold.
    • matthewconnelly, on 10/12/2007, -9/+2What's wrong with that? Cold pizza is so much tastier than hot pizza, I usually save takeaway pizza for breakfast!
    • mdonatas, on 10/12/2007, -12/+8*Except
  • AhronZombi, on 10/12/2007, -18/+14give the pizza to the homeless and get fined
  • mrASSMAN, on 10/12/2007, -1/+20As if Google employees don't already have free pizza at their disposal..
  • FatherG, on 10/12/2007, -0/+28You've gotta love how everything was going fine until the Chefs showed up and then called security.
  • camelot2302, on 10/12/2007, -1/+36Watching the video, I was really shocked by how rude the Google chefs were and how they were going to get security to arrest everyone. This company (Cambrian) shells out perhaps $7000 in free pizza to Google and all they get in return is to be told to leave or be arrested? There's gratitude for you! The Google chefs were acting like pouting spoilt little brats.
    • RichGC, on 10/12/2007, -5/+21Most chefs take pride in their food, I would be pissed of if I had spent time preparing food only for everyone to be eating pizza instead.

      Imagine if was the other way round, they turn up with the 1000 pizzas and not one person touches them, its just a waste of good food.

      It was a nice idea, but poorly done.
    • 8ight, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8and it was a quarter after three. shouldn't they be done with their cooking?
    • randyandy, on 10/12/2007, -3/+6Add to the fact that that would be an excellent way to poison a large number of people.
    • metaphysical, on 10/12/2007, -5/+6Uh, considering people aren't allowed to stroll on into a business without some kind of contact to begin with (Google not excluded), the chefs were 100% right in saying those people weren't supposed to be there.

      I'm just surprised employees didn't start calling the cops.
    • SystemBomb, on 10/12/2007, -1/+18I Know the chefs in the video, and they are really good guys. I have seen them go the extra mile to make sure someone who has a special food diet or allergies is taken care of.

      What some people may not know is that Google also serves dinner, and if someone got sick from eating the pizza the chefs may have some responsibility because they are in charge of food quality.

      As to their feelings, I imagine it being a lot like if I had worked many hours to create thanksgiving dinner and my uncle shows up having just taken the whole family to McDonald's. I think I would be a little upset as well.
    • dhughes, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4 Holy crap people lighten up! It was one day out of 365, live a little.

      I'd hate to see if someone invited any of you out to dinner would you say "Well I had something in mind, I usually eat at 6pm, the food you buy me may not be safe..."
    • glenra, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3One reason for the chefs to be mad is that they probably had a lot of food prepared that day that went to waste because googlers ate pizza instead.
  • nonokiaboy, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=2611684613035575342
  • dimmer, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4they may have gotten the boot, but they did leave the pizzas (what was left), so i would consider it a successful mission
  • Mantice, on 10/12/2007, -7/+1I've seen the first minute of this video and it looks funny as, But Ill have to watch the rest tomorrow, New Zealand broadband blows when you go over your massive "3 gig cap" in a few days >.>
  • anagoge, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8What a great way to increase publicity of Cambrian House. I love it.

    Cambrian House's site looks very interesting too. It sounds like it could be pretty huge in just a few month's time. I do hope it succeeds if they give off the same type of friendly feelings that that free pizza video did.
  • unclejose, on 10/12/2007, -4/+10But shouldn't security be a little cautious? This could have been a fine way to poison the entire Google campus. Furthermore, I imagine the web as we know it would change if something catastrophic happened to the Google campus, unless they have backups of everyone. They definitely need snipers on the roofs and sharks with lasers in the fountains as soon as possible, as well as chiefs with tasers.
    • neladua, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I was thinking the same thing (minus the tasers). While it seems like just a fun stunt, I wouldn't be surprised if Google's security is increased in the future; groups with less benign intentions might be watching the videos on youtube and imagining the publicity/damage they could do if they got into the Googleplex.
  • Computer_Kid, on 10/12/2007, -8/+6Microsoft probably hired them to poison the google workers :-)
  • anagoge, on 10/12/2007, -3/+14What I like about Cambrian House:

    1) It's already shown that it's trying to be 'for the people'.
    2) It's name isn't anything with an 'r' on the end.
    3) No cam.brianhou.se
    4) Joy, textures everywhere on the site! Not a web 2.0 gradient to be seen.
    5) The idea is complicated, but they've done their best to simplify it using attractive flash animations and short paragraphs.

    When this thing launches, I'm going to be a part of it.
  • darkjeffro, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0All the more reason that Google = insta win
  • aussiehuw, on 10/12/2007, -16/+8Lame publicity stunt by lame people.
    • anagoge, on 10/12/2007, -9/+15Generosity = Not Lame
      A bit of humour = Not Lame
      You = Lame
  • JTMON, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7In other news, 1000 new nano gps tracking devices were secretly planted today in the unsuspecting bodies of google employees.
    • andburn1, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Your wit is now featured on the Cambrian House blog. Good job!
  • georgelogy, on 10/12/2007, -2/+141. Enter the Google Complex with 1000 Pizzas
    2. ?????
    3. Profit
  • xswag, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Google finally kicked them to the curb after an Hour and a Half. I would have grabbed a Pie before it was all over.
  • xswag, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Oh and here is where the pizza was from (Amici's)
    http://www.waiter.com/cgi-bin/SCMMOS/GetRestaurant.cgi?AMICIS6
  • Fascist, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1Hold on there; don't the Google employees already get free food as a benefit for working there?
  • MoebiusStrip, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1It's always interesting to see the creative ways things a vendor will do, in order to suck up - Err, I mean to try and garner some business from a client.
  • madinga, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1WOW, I wish I had the PR talent of this CambrianHouse company.

    What a bunch of cynical (but clever) marketers in the Web 2.0 arena. What can 1000 pizzas cost? I dunno, they were probably donated by Pizza Hut anyway. But the coverage, man, the coverage!

    Feel those dollars flowing in, like some crazy capitalist version of the Niagara Falls. MMmmmm... Dollars... (dribble)....
    • Stapled, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2They said it was Ameci's in the video.
  • 15thPD, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4Am I the only one that got angry when the video narrator kept calling pizza "zah"?

    Wtf is up w/ that.
  • Blackforge, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I love the Old School bit (I think it was Old School, Will Ferrell anyways). I laughed so hard I can't think clearly..

    http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=2611684613035575342#2m49s
  • digitaldater, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1No such thing as a free za.

    A creative undercover promo/publicity stunt. I thought the video was great and you would be surprised how few people remember to buy lunch for others. Dugg.

    Loved the tranq dart.
  • adaptdev, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3The Chefs ruined it. If they serve people for free what are they losing?

    No one else in the entire place called security....call it "Little Man Syndrome".
  • vhold, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1This is just another pagerank optimization technique.
  • eNthem, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1nice publicity stunt...
  • scb0825, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6The Google Chefs acted like little pussies. You would think they would have a good sense of humor, but no... their heads are too far up their asses because they are "Google Chefs". Pussies!
    • andburn1, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2... Maybe one less "pussies." Or, you know, none would be good too.
  • pupppet, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Nobody deserves free food more than a multi billion dollar company with more money than it knows what to do with. Nice work!
    • slackerhobo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Its no the corporation getting the food … it’s the workers


      Though they probably make more money then me too … hmmm
  • zai-asal, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4The videos are hosted on YouTube because they have the option to embed the it on their site, the last thing they want is someone to just watch the video then leave their site.
  • MaxS, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Wow, the power of digg. I actually got a post on the front page!

    For those who are saying it's a PR stunt: congrats, you're smart. It's quite obviously a PR stunt, but who cares? It's a very cool one.

    • andburn1, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Hey, look at the latest post in the Cambrian House blog! You got a thank you. Good job.
    • MaxS, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Very cool.

  • btipling, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I've been on that Cambrian House website for about 30 minutes now and I still don't know what it is they do. :/
    • brstilson, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1From what I gather they combine open and proprietary-source software development models. Apparently, they get hired to do a software project for "x" company, or someone submits an idea for a new application. Then, the bad ideas get filtered out, and the rest are submitted to the community. As a programmer, you sign up to work on certain aspects of the project, which are worth a certain number of points. When the software is compiled/tested/released, you get paid based on your contribution to the project.

      Seems like an interesting liscensing method. I wonder if the points one earns are actually worth the time.
  • antdude, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Who's next? My workplace!
  • gklinger, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4You know what would have been really cool? If the Cambrianhouse people took all those pizzas down to a homeless shelter or better yet, donated the cost of those pizzas to a food bank. Taking 1000 pizzas to the millionaires and soon-to-be-millionaires at Google who already have gourmet chefs on hand seems wrong.
    • BoredAtWork, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Yes, or perhaps the Google Chefs could have done the same instead of being whiney bitches about it. I'm sure the shelter would have gladly accepted their food as well. Plus, it would be good PR for Google.
  • CaptHarlock, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Dear Google,
    enjoy some free pizza,
    lunch is on us
    and please buy our company...
  • gd007, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2did it come with some drinks?
    • alexras, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Sadly, it didn't come with free drinks.

      I'm an intern at Google, and generally the reaction to the free pizzas was that echoed by gklinger - why don't they just send them to a homeless shelter or something? We certainly didn't need them, although several people who don't eat dinner at Google regularly took a pizza home to their kids. I heard something about the rest of the pizzas being taken to a local orphanage after we Googlers were sated, but I can't really say for sure that it was. In any case, we thought it was a thoughtful, if somewhat odd, gesture on their part.
  • lightandfire, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3Well...there's ten minutes of my life I'll never get back.
    • shadowmancer, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0If your going to state something negative (or positive for that matter), have the courtesy to tell us why, otherwise your wasting our time.

      To everybody else, sorry for wasting your time with this comment.
  • xorian, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Awesome :)
  • jccalhoun, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2What a bunch of jerks. Well, at least the guy talking was a jerk. His self-important fake sounding voiceover makes me hate this company. Who the hell says "za?" Do people actually say that?
  • cousinlarry, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I am really surprised at how few people see what a patheticallly immature and BAD publicity stunt this was. Previously I had no opinion (or knowledge) of this company - I now see them as wasteful fame-whores who tried to prank the "popular kids" at google by wasting a lot of perfectly good food.

    How about marketing that tells me why I need some stupid middlemen with a hideous and juvenile looking website to take a cut of my labor value through "crowdsourcing," because the pizza stunt does not tell me any more why this company will ever have any potential to help me or my clients.

    Fizzle out and die, please - and soon.

  • LOUiSSCHiSM, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0I can't see something like this happening (ie: the possibility of poisoning Googles entire staff) without being Slowing and Carefully run past officials in the company, weeks before.

    It's a PR thing.
    Nothing is real.

    Everything is permitted...
  •  

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