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Update, 9:10 a.m. Friday: Sterling Heights announced Friday morning the new name for the "Golden Butthole" sculpture: The Halo.
After a contest for people to vote on a name, the Macomb city posted on Facebook:
We have a winner! With 947 votes, the name of the icon will now officially be "The Halo."
This was a very popular submission idea for the naming contest ,so we're not surprised it won the vote! You can call it the "Halo on Hall Road" or the "Hall Road Halo" or just stick with "The Halo."
Congratulations to Connie Truszkowski of Sterling Heights, who submitted the idea first. The name got 26 percent of the 3,620 votes.
Coverage earlier Friday:
Sterling Heights is expected to announce at 10 a.m. Friday the name for a Hall Road sculpture affectionately known as the "Golden Butthole." The city, which doesn't embrace the nickname, has reportedly received more than 18,000 alternative suggestions.
But three men at a Birmingham advertising firm are countering the renaming with more hijinks.
About two weeks ago, the trio created a fake Facebook event, “Ride the Golden Butthole,” promoting the fastest roller coaster on earth. Last Friday, they released a mock video of Golden Butthole roders.
Now they're up to no good again.
The group releases a video Friday (see below) that includes what looks like a real eletronic billboard encouraging people to ride the Golden Butthole. (It was created through a technique called video compositing.)
"We’re countering the city’s attempt to rebrand," says one of the troublemakers, Andrew Kozinski.
The new video billboard offers free tickets for the imaginary roller coaster. A downloadable ticket is "good for infinite rides" and 25 percent off the group's Golden Butthole merchandise -- T-shirts, hoodies, socks, leggings, a mug, a sticker. And 10 percent of proceeds will go to the Colon Cancer Coalition.
They're also offering to doante 25 percent of their Golden Butthole merchandise sales to the Colon Cancer Coaltion.
"It started out as a fun thing," say Kozinski. "People were really receptive."
He said it has evolved into somewhat of a community on Facebook -- with about 1,900 followers -- where people express their likes and dislikes about the nickname and the sculpture itself.
"We have no ill-will toward the city," he said. "It's more of a lighthearted thing."
