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Swiss rocketeer jetpacks above Grand Canyon, lives to tell the tale (video)
There's "crazy" and then there's "craaazy." Crazy is going swimming five minutes after eating, or wearing white after Labor Day. Craaazy, on the other hand, is Yves "Jetman" Rossy -- a Swiss flight fanatic who jetpacked across the Grand Canyon at 190-mph yesterday morning. Rossy's suicide mission began inside a helicopter hovering some 8,000 feet above the canyon's floor. After hurling himself out of the chopper, Jetman ignited his four-motor jetpack and, using his body as a rudder, gently steered himself across the abyss. The daredevil proceeded to coast for a full eight minutes at just 200 feet above the canyon ridge before he presumably realized that he was flying above the Grand Canyon and decided to parachute down to the bottom. Rossy completed the flight with his physical health fully intact, though his mental condition remains up for debate. Blast past the break for a video that'll throw your acrophobia into overdrive.
Lynx augmented reality stunt drops scantly clad angels on terrestrial travelers (video)
It isn't exactly a spring chicken, nor is it particularly new to the advertising game -- Best Buy utilized the stuff back in 2009 to push electronics -- but a new ad campaign from manly body spray purveyor Lynx (Axe in the US) is making augmented reality nearly unavoidable. Created by BBH, a global ad agency, the video below shows travelers at London's Victoria train station staring up at a giant screen to find themselves greeted by a skimpily attired fallen angel. The stunt, launched on March 6, drew a lot of attention from passersby, and in more than one instance elicited some pretty, well, bold behavior. Up until now, augmented reality has mostly been a play thing of the geek set -- even previous advertisements enlisting such tactics required a decent amount of work from the audience -- but if these fallen angels are any sign, we could all be traversing a more unreal world very soon. [Thanks, Ben]
Dell employees arrested for poor decision making skills
Round Rock police responded to multiple 911 calls of a suspicious man carrying two metallic objects inside a building at Dell's HQ campus. The "biker," dressed in all black and wearing a skull mask, was yelling at people to "go to the lobby," according to police reports. The ensuing panic resulted in the arrest of two Dell employees charged with interfering with public duties and deadly misconduct. Now get this: the incident was the result of a marketing stunt gone horribly wrong with the purpose of internally promoting a new product for the Dell Streak tablet "which can interface with Harley-Davidson motorcycles." Because really, leather-clad motorcyclists are constantly complaining about the lack of peripherals for their choppers.
Google fires Nexus S into space, invites tenuous Galaxy S analogies (video)
How are you killing the time until the Nexus S finally goes on sale? Google's answer to that question has been a typically outlandish affair, involving seven Nexi, a collection of weather balloons, and another quest to see how much can be learned from a humble smartphone's sensors when they're shot to the edge of space. Yes, the Mountain View madmen fired a week's worth of their latest and greatest smartphones through the Earth's atmosphere, hoping to test both the durability and the information-gathering skills of the onboard compass, gyro, and accelerometer, while dedicated GPS modules were installed in each "shuttle" (made out of styrofoam beer coolers, if you can believe it) to help recover the cargo on its return to terra firma. So far, only six of the phones have been recovered -- might this be another of Google's crazy puzzles? A treasure hunt for an Android fallen from heaven? Video after the break. Update: Want to see an Android in space? It turns out that Google was documenting the entire event, and has high-res images and footage of its mascot exiting Earth's atmosphere in a brand-new blog post. Find it at our more coverage links, or hit the break for some video!
Nokia pairs N8 with world's largest cinema screen
Say what you will about the Nokia N8, but it sure has prompted Nokia to get creative in its efforts to market the phone. Following up an attempt earlier this month to create the world's smallest stop motion animation, the company recently (temporarily) erected what's apparently world's biggest cinema screen -- at 1,428 square meters, it just barely edged out the previous record holder that measured 1,338 square meters, although that screen was wider. Of course, the N8 wasn't able to project the Prince of Persia movie all by itself, so Nokia took advantage of the phone's HDMI output to connect four 140-kilogram XLM HD30 projectors -- no doubt another first for a cellphone. Head on past the break for the video.
The iPad makes a pretty good skateboard, too
We've seen an iPad blended and microwaved, so why not turn it into a skateboard, right? That's exactly what Fuel.tv did, and you can watch the results above. Does it stand up to the skater scrutiny? Yes and no ... okay, mostly no. The screen surprisingly breaks right away, and the form factor seems a little too small to support the skater's balance. However, after a little reinforcement (including a drilled hole through the middle that results in ... smoke? Is that the "magical" part?), they can actually get it to roll a little ways. That's not too shabby! Before you start complaining that they've, yet again, wasted an iPad, don't forget that 500 bucks has nabbed them over 100k views of their video online. So, for them, it's not a complete throwaway. [via Mashable]
Google's 1Gbps broadband offer brings out the crazy in municipal officers around the States (video)
You'll be aware by now that Google's cooking up an experimental high speed broadband network, which is currently in the process of collecting applications and nominations from interested communities. Given the limited coverage planned -- anywhere between 50,000 and 500,000 people -- there's understandably a lot of competition to get your small town on Google's radar, and city officials all around the USA have been doing their utmost to grab some publicity for their locale. Duluth mayor Don Ness can be seen above taking a dip in Minnesota's icy Lake Superior (with his unfortunate underling Richard Brown taking a fish to the face), while others have held parades, danced, invented a "Google Fiber" flavor of ice cream, and even swam with sharks for the sake of that precious fiber. Duluth, however, is the only place officially endorsed by a senator, and you can see Al Franken promote the city's virtues on video after the break. [Thanks, b3ast] Update: We've now also got video of the actual dip in the water, slide past the break to see it [Thanks, TheLostSwede].
Just Cause 2 trailer analyzes anatomy of the 'Rocket Launcher Jump' stunt
Though we've thoroughly enjoyed Just Cause 2's "Anatomy of a Stunt" videos, we're not sure the one you see posted above is accurately titled. Though the name "Rocket Launcher Jump" does capture some of the components of the stunt, it fails to mention a few other important buzzwords; namely "speedboat," "ramp," "explosion," "death," "aerial," and "unimaginably awesome." Do yourself a favor and check out the video above, which we've chosen to remoniker "Unimaginably Awesome Speedboat Ramp Jump Aerial Rocket Launcher Explosion Death." %Gallery-65577%
Cricket tacks on Samsung's Stunt
Looking for a rightful successor to your now-aging SCH-R211? Samsung and Cricket would like you to look no further than the SCH-R100 Stunt, a dead ringer for the candybar of the same name that launched on MetroPCS back in December of last year. It turns out this is a little bit more than your average ultra-basic phone, though: Cricket says this device is introducing Bluetooth to the lowest tier of its lineup, a particularly useful feature now that using the handset while driving is a no-no in many jurisdictions. It's available now (contract free, naturally) for $99.99.
OU professor submerses laptop in liquid nitrogen, smashes it to prove a point (video)
Hey, students -- pay attention. Not to us, mind you, but to the syllabus provided by your professor. Kieran Mullen, a physics professor at the University of Oklahoma, has a fairly strict rule about gadgets in class: there won't be any, ever, under any circumstances. Balk all you want (understandable given his own clipped-on cellie), but if you sign up for this guy's class, you'll be flipping your phone to "off" and leaving your laptop in the dormitory. And if you try to blaze your own path and slip that netbook into the back row, you might leave bitterly disappointed. As you'll see clearly in the video past the break, Mr. Mullen sought to make a visual point that laptops weren't allowed in class (he calls them "a distraction"), and while it seems that the whole stunt was premeditated, most students acknowledged that his point was driven home. In short, he took a defunct machine, submerged it in liquid nitrogen, and proceeded to make the following statement: "This is just liquid nitrogen, so it alone won't hurt the computer. But this will." Find out exactly what "this" was by hitting that 'Read More' button there on the lower left. [Thanks, studentatOU]
New Just Cause 2 trailers dissect the 'Anatomy of a Stunt'
We love that Just Cause 2's trailers have simply devolved into demo reels showing off the ridiculous destructive powers the player can harness using a hookshot, a parachute and a bit of ingenuity. Two such videos were recently released by Square Enix, subtitled "Anatomy of a Stunt." The first, which shows a rather exhilarating car jump over explosive-lined jet fuel tanks, is posted above. The second, embedded after the jump, shows all the clever ways one can dispatch enemies using gravity. Sorry, Square Enix marketing team, but we're not comfortable classifying "murder" as a "stunt," no matter how creative said "murder" might be.
Samsung Stunt for MetroPCS performs surprisingly few stunts
MetroPCS' bread and butter rests in the low- to mid-end of the handset spectrum since it offers its devices on a pricey contract-free basis, so it shouldn't come as any surprise that the freshly-announced Stunt from Samsung doesn't mess with the time-tested formula. The candybar trudges along with a 160 x 128 display, Bluetooth, AWS CDMA (like all MetroPCS handsets these days), and a shell utterly devoid of meaningful industrial design -- that's it. No more, no less. And sometimes, simplicity is a beautiful thing, right? It's not showing up on the carrier's site just yet, but the Stunt should be available today.
Intel fires employees out of cannons, flirts with supervillainy
If you had to play a five-note jingle in the most extravagant way possible, how would you go about it? Intel's answer is to propel five "engineers" through the air and into specially prepared jumbo-sized tubular bells. The result is the familiar "Intel Inside" tune, and for extra flair points the big bad monopolist also throws in a countdown done in Finnish which you'll definitely want to see and hear. The video lies after the break and yes, of course it's a fake -- even the engineers are just hired actors.
EA confirms Dante's Inferno protest was staged
Electronic Arts has admitted that the Dante's Inferno protest during E3 was staged by a guerrilla marketing agency. The publisher confirmed to the AP that the firm hired 20 people to hold signs like "Just say Infer-NO" and "Trade in your PlayStation for a PrayStation." There's got to be a better way to promote the game.
Ginormous robot spider invades Liverpool, England
Nope, we aren't sensationalizing anything -- that creature you see above really has made the streets of Liverpool its home. According to an in-the-know tipster, it's reportedly going to be stalking citizens and making all sorts of ruckus, possibly the kind involving pyrotechnics. So what's with England and these totally random stunts? First a full-sized UFO crashes in Potters Fields Park, now a gigantic spider shows up as part of La Machine. Be honest here: are any of you terrified?[Thanks, Chay]
Orange says Polish iPhone 3G customers weren't paid actors
Folks, be honest with us here -- did you really expect Orange and / or Apple to say anything other than this? Amidst reports that iPhone 3G line sitters at Polish Orange stores were actually paid to be there, the carrier has shot back in order to defend its dignity. In an e-mail reply to an Ad Age inquiry on the matter, a spokeswoman proclaimed that as "part of the excitement around the launch of the iPhone, some of [Orange's] team has been joining customers outside [of the] shops." She also noted that "sales were strong" and that Orange "was happy," though actual numbers were not revealed. So there you have it, now make of it what you will.[Image courtesy of AppleBlog]
Acclaim makes list of top guerrilla marketers
Magazine Mental Floss has listed the the Top 10 greatest guerrilla marketers, and publisher Acclaim Entertainment made the list. If you need a quick refresh, guerrilla marketing is pretty much anything not normal advertising. It can be some guy using a new product you've never seen before in your local Starbucks who's a plant, it could be a comment troll in a forum or an ARG, like what Halo 3 is doing. Acclaim made the list for having some of the more insane marketing stunts in gaming. They include: Offering cash to the first five UK citizens who'd legally change their name to Turok, apparently 3,000 people offered. Shadow Man 2 they offered relatives of the newly dead to put promotional ads on the headstones of their recently deceased. They pulled that one. Gladiator: Sword of Vengeance they apparently considered "bloodvertising," which would have bus shelter ads seep a red liquid onto the street. And finally, offering to pay all speeding tickets in the UK the day Burnout 2 released. They had to retract this one also because of the potential danger. What's the lesson to be learned from this? If you can't make good games, at least have good marketing.
Chevrolet's 'Scratch Car-d' Captiva-cum-lottery ticket
From the same company that let consumers create their own ads belittling it as an eco-terrorist and worse, comes a new promotional stunt that earns one lucky winner the right to drive home in a vehicle that's been scratched up by several thousand fellow contestants. Billed as the "world's first ever Scratch Car-d," the specific Captiva that Chevrolet gave away in the UK's Covent Garden this morning spent two months getting coated with the same silver latex used to make instant-win lottery tickets, which was then divided up into 16,995 tiny boxes to reflect the Captiva's price in pounds sterling. No word on who ended up with what's bound to be a pretty atrocious-looking vehicle, but we're sure that this one won't be too hard to spot on the streets of London.[Thanks, Omar]
Lower your expectations: Jackass coming to the DS
You know what's missing from your DS? The ability to do exactly what every episode of Jackass has warned you not to do: try their brand of Jackassery at home. Thanks to the power of video games, however, you and your "dumb buddies" will get to relive all the best moments of the films and show ... if, that is, your favorites happen to be included in the upcoming game coming to the PSP, the PS2, and our own DS.The game, which hits shelves in September, will feature 35 stunts, set up like mini-games, and some will be all new ideas that were never implemented by the crew. From these, players create their own "episodes," complete with ratings; the more pain and punishment you inflict upon your mini-Jackasses, the better your score. Johnny Knoxville offered up this seminal quote when talking about his dreams for the title. "We just hope that our video game is as crappy as our movies."
Twenty20 helmet camera records sweet jumps
It's not like the world really needed yet another alternative when it comes to helmet cams, but considering just how diminutive Twenty20's iteration really is, we can't kvetch too much. The ten-ounce device comes ready to record with a battery pack, helmet mount, external microphone, and a CMOS image sensor. The company claims that the OmniVision-equipped camera can last a whopping 16 or so hours from a single 9-volt cell, and the aluminum exterior supposedly protects it from any bangs, bruises, and extreme temperature damage. As expected, you will want to bring along your own video recorder to capture the action that the unit records, and just in case you're hoping to capture a bit more of what's going on, the outfit even sells a wide angle lens kit, motorcycle mount, and wired controller for your convenience. The basic camera set is available right now for a reasonable $249.99, and while we wouldn't recommend endangering your life just to capture a jaw-dropping vid, we're sure the collective YouTube universe will appreciate your valorousness.
