There was a time when people could very easily tell the difference between reality and fiction, and it wasn't that many years ago. For instance, you could tell people that your car drives by itself twenty years ago, but all you would have got were some smiles and, perhaps a few frowns.
Do that now, and people will ask you whether it's a Mercedes-Benz or a Tesla. Nowadays, we've reached a point where we're much more likely to believe weird stuff can actually be done, which is a testament to how far technology has come. But it also means we're more inclined to fall for carefully-crafted pranks.
There is undoubtedly a smartphone addiction that nobody seems to take very seriously, and some studies have shown people exhibit very nasty psychological manifestations if they are deprived of access to their beloved device. So if somebody were to make sure this separation had absolutely no chance ever to occur again, you wouldn't find it that strange, right?
Well, Skoda definitely banked on that idea when it came up with this pretty elaborate prank meant to showcase the connectivity features of its new KodiaqSUV. So, they chose an actor to pretend he was a salesman, they hired some movie-grade makeup specialists who made it look as if his smartphone had been implanted into his forearm, and then waited for the first unaware customer to fall into their net.
It's worth noting this happened in Great Britain, a place where people are, in general, a lot more polite than in other places on the globe. Normally, if you saw someone with a touchscreen sticking out of their arm, you would forget about the car and would like to know more about that.
The prank took a turn for the absurd when, after demonstrating the advantages of having the phone constantly at your side, the customers were asked whether they wanted to have the procedure themselves. No need to go to a hospital, either, as one of the Skoda dealership rooms had been turned into an ad-hoc surgery ward, complete with a former veterinarian to perform the intervention.
They probably realized that, at this point, it was too much even for the well-mannered Brits, so the prank was revealed. And, as you would expect, everybody was relieved. And a bit embarrassed. As they should be.
"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie) Full profile
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