Panty Raiders

The Panty Raiders, consists of Leba Haber Rubinoff and Katie Marsh, two women who created the well known website [http://www.forgetmenotpanties.com/ forget-me-not panties] in 2005.Cite web|url=http://www.macleans.ca/culture/media/article.jsp?content=20060109_118980_118980|title=The Smartypants Scam|accessdate=2008-02-17|year=2006-01-06|author=Shanda Deziel|work=MacLeans] The website was created, not as a hoax, but rather as an entry into Contagious Media Showdown's contest to see which purpose-built website could spark the most viral interest over a three-week period.Cite web|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2005/nov/14/mondaymediasection.foodanddrink?gusrc=rss&feed=media|title=Dispatches|accessdate=2008-02-17|year=2005-11-14|work=The Guardian] Haber Rubinoff and Marsh, saw the contest and website as a venue to raise awareness and discussion about gender. They were not expected to win, but their work was picked up by FARK, the "College Humor" blog and other sites, leading to more than 600,000 sites during the contest period and one million hits in the six months between May and November 2005.

Surprising both the creators and the contest organizers, many visitors to the website believed the product to be real and attempted to order the panties or learn how to be come a distributor.Cite web|url=http://www.medialifemagazine.com/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi?archive=121&num=1643|title=Alas, at last, the forget-me-not panty|accessdate=2008-02-17|year=2005-12-05|author=Heidi Dawley|work=Media Life] The creators believe the website's success, which was a significant return on a $18 investment, came from the humor and the fact that it was picked up by key bloggers who helped to spread the word. This resulted in the duo winning the $2,500 grand prize.Cite web|url=http://jscms.jrn.columbia.edu/cns/2005-11-01/potts-panties/|title=Love is a Pair of Panties that can Track you Down|accessdate=2008-02-17|publisher=Columbia News Service|year=2005-11-1|author=Monica Potts]

Other websites created by the duo include: [http://www.plasticassets.com plastic assets] , which advertised a new credit card that offered free breast implants to young applicants; [http://www.christiansagainsthiphop.com christians against hip hop] , which tried to save white girls from the "dangers" of Hip Hop; and [http://www.adoptblackgirls.com adopt black girls] , a fake adoption agency for young girls, which raised awareness about the effects of racist policy after Hurricane Katrina. Cite web|url=http://cf.huffingtonpost.com/|title=The Huffington Post Contagious Festival|accessdate=2008-02-17]

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