In a list of terrible launch promotion blunders OnePlus has decided to remove the forum page for it’s “Ladies First” promotion. This is after such poor marketing choices as the “Smash the Past” promotion which required people to smash their current phone to have a chance at winning an invite to later be able to buy the OnePlus phone. Not to mention the entire invite purchasing scheme where you need to be invited by someone to have a chance at buying the phone. How can a company creating such interesting hardware have such a stupid marketing platform. No company is this stupid. Could it all be… a conspiracy?

Keep in mind how OnePlus started. It was meant to be a competitive company created by the maverick Oppo vice president (Peter Lau) who left to company to create the “Perfect Smartphone” with no compromises. “ The OnePlus company creation myth is this: Young genius rises through ranks of old-school company, can’t be contained anymore, busts out on his own in risky venture where all his best ideas will be tested on the open market.”

But a few months ago some devastating news emerged. OnePlus was registered to Oppo Electronics. And soon documents filed with the Shenzhen Municipal Market Supervisory Authority revealed that Oppo was the sole owner of OnePlus. While OnePlus was quick to clarify in a statement that Oppo Electronics is different from Oppo Mobile, the damage was done.

Also OnePlus doesn't seem to give much attention to customer service. A friend of mine who develops for android recently ordered a OnePlus One. After a delayed shipment his package was sent to Toronto (he lives in Vancouver). When he contacted them he was repeatedly told to contact other people and to “wait patiently”. The conflict escalated to the point where he had to petition Paypal to cancel his payment. He doesn’t want the OnePlus anymore.

So in the light of these revelations lets consider the following situation:

Oppo is creating curing edge large screen phones in china but has problems establishing their brand and quality in America, where “made in China” is synonymous with poor quality. ‏Faced with this dilemma they create a fake competitor called OnePlus.
The fake company will promise to create a cutting edge device that has great specs, a large screen, and most importantly is really cheap, so it cannot be ignored.
The Promised phone creates waves of excitement and anticipation that flow through the internet and stir up interest in their target markets. That excitement builds but then is gradually destroyed through a barrage of terrible marketing and promotional decisions (invites, “Smash the Past”, “Ladies First”).
Through these bad decisions, production delays, and poor shipping, relatively few units actually end up shipping. The hype and desire that OnePlus created for a large, capable, and cheap Chinese phone is left unsatisfied for many consumers.
A few weeks after OnePlus is done making marketing mistakes or runs out of stock, Oppo comes out with a “game changer”. a phone that can will undercut the OnePlus and have better hardware and more importantly will be available immediately: no invites, no stupid campaigns, and no shipping delays. All those enticed by OnePlus’s hype and promises who were put off by their marketing or couldn't get a phone now swarm to the new Oppo flagship.

By using a shell company Oppo created demand for its product using poor marketing tactics, and with next to no risk on it’s brand or bottom line (until the ownership revelation). And even if Oppo decides to funnel it’s flagship through OnePlus, the demand has still been created.

Keep in mind that the OnePlus One’s body and design language is almost identical to that of the Oppo Find 7.