Disaster struck at a press conference earlier today, where a new iPhone themed to the Harry Potter novel series was set to be unveiled. The new product, a combination of two of the most heavily-marketed items in recent memory, imploded under the extreme weight of its own marketing potential, injuring several and causing quite a panic in the advertising and marketing communities.

“We were worried this day would come,” admitted Greg Stephens, President and CEO of Allied Marketers and Advertisers Inc. “Simply put: the product had too much buzz and spin stacked on top of it to hold up. The laws of marketing tell us there’s only so much you can claim about a single product before something like this happens.”

“Apple and Scholastic just got greedy,” he added.

The iPhone, billed as a 3-in-1 portable solution to all your technological needs, has been flying off the shelves to much fanfare since its launch in late June. Likewise, the last novel in the Harry Potter series has sold millions of copies since its release last Friday, the culmination of months of heavy advertising on billboards, radio, TV, busses, newspapers, and that spot on your back you just can’t reach no matter how hard you try.

The combination of the two marketing behemoths into the Harry Potter iPhone would create a product that is a phone, an iPod, an internet communications device, and a novel that would simultaneously make everyone’s lives easier, save the printed word by engaging a whole new generation of readers, and end world hunger somehow. According to Mr. Stephens, this much hype on one single piece of electronics is a recipe for disaster.

“You have to spread out your outrageous and exaggerated claims of excellence. This is an even bigger disaster than Kraft Dinner’s ‘Nutritious, Delicious, and Coniferous’ campaign of the late 90’s.”

Neither Apple, makers of the iPhone, nor Scholastic, publishers of the Harry Potter series, could be reached for comment.

Those injured by the implosion were taken to a nearby hospital, and none of the injuries appear to be serious. Still, says Karen Goldthwaite, a reporter who attended the press conference, companies need to be more responsible to ensure this doesn’t happen again.

“This is the third time in my career I’ve been put in danger by the launch of an over-hyped product combination. There was the Tickle-me Macarena, Y2Viagra, and now this. Something needs to change.”