RIM's (NASDAQ: RIMM) "Be Bold" marketing effort elicited some swift and harsh feedback this week. The "BeBold Team," made up of four colorful cartoon superheroes, made its debut in a post on the company's blog, "bravely stepping out of 2011 and into 2012 filled with unlimited possibilities." By mid-afternoon Tuesday it looked like they were quietly stepping back into obscurity as the company made it eminently clear that the superheroes did not constitute an ad campaign, but rather a simple infographic.

Here are a few of the more colorful reactions from around the web:

TechCrunch's Chris Velazco: "Somehow, when RIM's marketing department was brainstorming ways to get people to take them seriously as a worthwhile competitor in the smartphone market, the concept of using small ethnically-diverse cartoon superheroes not only came up but stuck...RIM is trying to humanize the brand (or in this case, super-humanize) in an attempt to show people that using a BlackBerry isn't a mark of the tragically uncool or the hopeless workaholic."

Engadget's Sharif Sakr: "It's a common human trait that, when faced with a series of calamities, the brain will retreat into a fantasy world in which everything is the exact opposite of reality...there's GoGo Girl, who 'saves the day with a brilliant strategy' (translation: we don't have a strategy). Then comes Justin Steele, who's 'always ready to stick up for his friends' (translation: we don't have friends). Trudy Foreal 'isn't afraid to call it as she sees it' (translation: our shareholders are complaining). Finally, the adventurous Max Stone is 'able to jump out of a plane' (translation: we're going to crash)."

Gizmodo's Jamie Condliffe: "This pink and purple mess looks a bit like an advertising executive just vomited his late-night cocktail onto a page and presented it to RIM. 'That'll do,' he probably thought. 'They're shafted anyway.'"

For more:
- see the RIM blog post
- see the TechCrunch post
- see the Engadget post
- see the Gizmodo post

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