Prankvertising? What the heck?

The first time I heard about this was on Saturday when I overheard someone else’s conversation (Lol I don’t usually ease drop but I can’t help myself when people talk loud). After some research, I finally know what it is.

Prankvertising is entrapping or surprising unsuspecting consumers by a prank or spectacular stunt. The video footage is then used as a commercial or viral video. Advertisers and agencies are increasingly using this advertising technique on the Internet because they don’t need to buy TV spots and they can gain increased exposure via the media buzz, which is actually quite awesome if you think of it.

 An example of a prankvertise is LGs Dooms Day advert. In this ad an office window was replaced by an LG high-definition TV, to give the impression of a normal window. Then actual job applicants were brought in and an actor conducted an interview. As they begin the interview, the TV/ window displays a great explosion, the room begins to shake, and all the lights turn off in the office, as if the world has ended. After some time, the scared job applicant is left in the dark office to capture their completely terrified reaction as they believed the huge explosion on the screen.

At the end of the ad, the lights turn on and they explain to the job applicants that it was a LG Ultra HD TV screen that displayed the seemingly real explosion. However this scenario could potentially inflict unintended stress upon the person and the company could get sued.

In my opinion, even though the risk is high, I still feel that it is worth it because there is a big demand from viewers for new prankvertisements and these ads work because they grab user’s attention and provide an opportunity for users to interact directly. Plus, with Youtube, and social media sharing, prank ads have the potential to go viral, which is something that every company strives for.