Tag Archives: prank

advertising, book, Viral Video, YouTube

Rick Astley Makes Come Back With “Never Gonna Give You Up”

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Rick AstleyWarning: YouTube prank spoiler here. If you haven’t spent some time on YouTube’s homepage today, stop reading immediately.

If you have been there, you might have noticed that each of the attractive thumbnails take you to the same video. Rick Astley’s supah cheesy “Never Gonna Give You Up.” You’ve been “rickrolled.”

My hats off to the person that sold this internally. I’ve watched this video recently, and I’m quite sure I didn’t find it on my own. I wish I could remember where I found it. According to Wikipedia, Around the year 2007, posting mislabeled links to the video on the Internet became popular, in a prank known as “rickrolling.”

I can just hear the discussion at a YouTube “April’s Fool Brainstorming” meeting last week in San Bruno.

  • The prankster: So here’s my big idea. All these captivating homepage thumbnails, but every click goes to Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up.”
  • Stephen Chen: Who? Who’s Ricky Ashley?
  • Prankster: A 1980s star. When were you bor… never mind.
  • Editorial: That would give Astley an unfair advantage above other 1980s musicians trying to lift themselves out of oblivian. Like Weird Al. Then again, he’s big on Revver.
  • Tall, Balding Advertising Guy: It would give him millions and millions of views. Would we charge his agent a CPM or “per click”?
  • Community Lady: Who invited the bald guy with the bad breath? Anyway, I’m not sure people will get it. And they may get annoyed.
  • Advertising Guy: Wait, Goth Lady- can we host the video and take 100% of the advertising revenue? Like we’d just post it on a “house” partner’s account?
  • Stephen Chen: I don’t know. I’d rather go back to the original idea of putting the logo upside down. That smacks of comedic brilliance.
  • Mark Day: Righto, Stephen! That’s hysterical. Upside down logo. Steven Chen pees with Mark DayLOLLOLLLOLLLL. I can hear them now: “hey, is my computer upside down?” Can I walk you to your car. Mr. Chen? It looks like it’s raining again.
  • Stephen Chen: Yes, Smithers. Then it’s settled (he says dismissively, before leaving conference room with Mark Day by side).
  • Technical Guy: I liked your idea.
  • Prankster: Sighs. Well it would have been funny.
  • Technical Guy: Correction- it will be funny.
  • Prankster: Won’t Stephen get pissed?
  • Technical Guy: Nope. He hasn’t visited YouTube in 11 weeks. He’ll never know.
  • Stephen Chen (voice audible from hallway): Mark, I’d just assume you wait out here while I pee. I’m not sure I want the world knowing I drop my pants and undies below my knees when using the urinal.
book, Nalts

The Internet Never Forgets: Cap’n Crunch Is NOT the Devil

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In further proof that I’ll not likely pass my next new-hire screening, here are two of many prank letters I wrote 17 years ago. The Internet never forgets, and Pat Kutack never forgets to renew his URL dedicated to his now defunct Georgetown University comedy troupe called “Rebels Without Applause.” Mind you, I never had the courage to join the folks on stage. But I video taped their shows (in exchange for an open tab at the bar).

We’ve come full circle haven’t we? Do you think I was kidding about this WillVideoForFood name? I once videotaped a wedding surviving only on olives from the bar.

Here are two letters I shared with Pat during college. They’re prank letters to two cereal manufacturers:

  1. General Mills’ Cinnamon Toast Crunch because I found a cigarette butt in my bowl.
  2. Quaker’s Cap’N Crunch, because the cartoon “icon of the devil” was freaking my kids out. Never mind that I wouldn’t have kids for another 7 years after writing that.

captain crunch loves youHighlights: November 18, 1990. To Quaker: I have two kids and they used to eat Cap’N Crunch all the time. But then once a friend of mine told me that Cap’N Crunch he’s an icon of the devil. I got to noticing that my kids acting realy strange when they eat the food. The last box I bought I won’t let them eat and its hard anyway ,so they shouldn’t eat it. We aren’t buying your cereal anymore because there scared and I am too of it.

In great diplomacy, Quaker didn’t give the devil his due. But a “consumer response specialist” did explain (see below) that the Cap’n artist was Jay Ward, the creator of Rocky the Squirrel and

captain crunch loves you

Bullwinkle the Moose. So that pretty much cleared things up, and I’ve been a fan of Cap’n ever since. Especially peanut butter.

P.S. This brilliant comment from Marquisdejolie: I remember reading about that. Some poor smoker at General Mills was fired despite his vehement protests of innocence. His wife left him, taking the children and everything he owned except a ratty old recreational vehicle. He lived in it down by the river for years, cultivating a wicked bad drinking habit. Then one day, he snapped, parked the RV along the route of a city parade and began shooting at the floats screaming “There’s your butt! There’s your butt!” The sniper was killed in a hail of police fire, but not before he mortally wounded a much beloved math teacher and three school children. It was in all the papers.

Viral Video, YouTube

Politics and Viral: McCain and Obama Music Video Parodies

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yes we can no we can’t mccain obama music video parodyThis is the year where viral video will, no doubt, shape the election. And while this blog cannot possibly keep up on the political satire that’s overtaking YouTube, this one felt worth a mention.

Barack Obama’s speech inspired this music video featuring Black Eyed Peas. It’s called “Yes We Can.”

That spawned Election08 (comedians in LA) to produce a music video called “John He Is.” And here’s another parody by BarelyPolitical called “John McCain: No You Can’t.”

Candidly, I’m laughing more at the amazingly simple video by BarelyPolitical that features John McCain prank calling Hillary Clinton with a burp and a fart. Now that’s political humor for the common denominator.