Comments on: Seriously, don't try this at home.

Seriously, don't try this at home.

empath — Wed, 28 May 2008 03:29:25 -0800

By: Jofus

Jofus — Wed, 28 May 2008 03:45:23 -0800

I saw this a couple of days ago and was genuinely a little freaky-deakied out. Then I remembered how rugged and masculine I am, so I went out and kicked a puppy. This is extremely well done - anyone got any more info?

By: malevolent

malevolent — Wed, 28 May 2008 03:52:40 -0800

It's a viral for a phone company (there's a URL at the end).

By: Dillonlikescookies

Dillonlikescookies — Wed, 28 May 2008 03:56:46 -0800

awesome.

By: DecemberBoy

DecemberBoy — Wed, 28 May 2008 04:03:51 -0800

This is viral marketing. If you go to the URL at the end, it's a company selling prepaid cell phones ("no contracts, no evil"). Plus, scare videos? What is this, 1999? OH SHIT IT'S A GHOST IN MY ANIMATED GIF! On the other hand, it is well-done and kinda neat. But fuck viral marketing. Don't enable that kind of shit.

By: hojoki

hojoki — Wed, 28 May 2008 04:14:03 -0800

Cool effect. At first I thought, yuck, nasty looking microwave who'd cook in that thing?

By: East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94

East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 — Wed, 28 May 2008 04:20:15 -0800

I THINK THIS IS FAKE LAME

By: greenie2600

greenie2600 — Wed, 28 May 2008 04:22:08 -0800

Cool video, but this site tries to install teh spiwarez on my computer.

By: Skorgu

Skorgu — Wed, 28 May 2008 04:33:42 -0800

Saw this last night. I think this is more an ad riffing on the 'viral' phenomenon than a real viral ad itself, too obvious. Well done effects though.

By: twine42

twine42 — Wed, 28 May 2008 04:36:50 -0800

Only last week Mrs t42 pointed out a prepaid cell phone with the warning "this device contains chips that may be damaged by placing them inside a microwave oven". We wondered what kind of twunt would stick a cell phone in a microwave. Now we know. Viral advertisers.

By: flapjax at midnite

flapjax at midnite — Wed, 28 May 2008 04:43:18 -0800

I like the word "twunt". That's good.

By: DU

DU — Wed, 28 May 2008 04:47:43 -0800

The fakery inside the microwave is pretty good, but before that is awful and gives plenty of warning of what is to come. What real microwave makes that zzzzip sound? And why would a flash from inside the device light up the exterior of the machine?

By: musicinmybrain

musicinmybrain — Wed, 28 May 2008 05:19:50 -0800

Fake, and not even a cool fake. Just another dumb viral ad. (Why do even crappy memes show up in five different places at once in my RSS feeds?)

By: public

public — Wed, 28 May 2008 05:43:58 -0800

He didn't phone the mobile while it was being microwaved :(

By: Tube

Tube — Wed, 28 May 2008 05:45:17 -0800

When I first saw this video on Break.com or whatever, I suspected it was fake because the oven door was missing the metal screen. This often disrupts efforts to photograph the contents of microwave ovens. There is enough cool stuff you can do with a microwave oven that's real that we don't need bullshit CGI viral videos.

By: CheeseDigestsAll

CheeseDigestsAll — Wed, 28 May 2008 05:58:38 -0800

If I were going to microwave a phone, I'd at least have it playing its ringtone while it died.

By: quin

quin — Wed, 28 May 2008 07:27:09 -0800

Well, despite the warnings, I tried it at home, and nothing like that happened at all. The flashing lights, the scary, screaming head? All for effect. Apart from the little gnome in an elegant derby and three piece suit, who came out of my earpiece, got my attention by doing some interpretive dance, tumbling, and juggling, and then explained in detail why this was bad for both my cell phone and my microwave, I'd say nothing much happened at all. Totally fake.

By: empath

empath — Wed, 28 May 2008 08:11:52 -0800

It's only an ad if you go and search for the URL at the end. Otherwise, it's just a cool bit of CGI.

By: theora55

theora55 — Wed, 28 May 2008 08:16:44 -0800

I've seen this link in a lot of places lately, finally clicked, and it was worth the 40 seconds or so. Plus, twunt is a good addition to my vocabulary, making this a worthwhile post.

By: chimaera

chimaera — Wed, 28 May 2008 08:17:21 -0800

Ia Ia! Fthagn!

By: theora55

theora55 — Wed, 28 May 2008 08:27:17 -0800

If viral marketers make a good piece of entertainment, they'll get me to click. A better advertising model than many. I'd rather watch 1 amusing video and reward the creative advertiser with my attention, than be plagued with 10 minutes of the same, intelligence-insulting ads, repeated again & again, for every 30 minutes of teevee.

By: Dave Faris

Dave Faris — Wed, 28 May 2008 08:31:04 -0800

Yep. That's right, sonny... it was early to mid 2008 when the flood of fakery on the Internet made us all turn off our browsers, throw away our electronic gizmos, and return to an agrarian lifestyle. First it was the guy who claimed he drew the biggest picture in the world, then it was the fake robot love doll, and then it was the cuthulu cellphone in the microwave. And we'd just had it. After we lynched all the jackholes who pushed the stuff on us on ... what did we call them? Blogs... after we lynched them, we turned our computers into plowshares, and started growing corn.

By: basicchannel

basicchannel — Wed, 28 May 2008 09:15:57 -0800

People get soooo angry at the moving pictures!!

By: ZippityBuddha

ZippityBuddha — Wed, 28 May 2008 09:44:34 -0800

But the plate in his microwave doesn't even spin around. With plot holes like that I just can't suspend my disbelief at all

By: StickyCarpet

StickyCarpet — Wed, 28 May 2008 14:09:57 -0800

Well, you do know that you can warm up your lunch by placing a cell phone on either side and having one call the other? That's still true.

By: Kid Charlemagne

Kid Charlemagne — Wed, 28 May 2008 16:07:05 -0800

Given the number of times I've seen a cell phone up against the side of the head of someone weaving back and forth, my startle reflex is pretty much used up for this year. Put a cell phone, an inattentive driver AND an SUV in a microwave and you've got my business!

By: flapjax at midnite

flapjax at midnite — Wed, 28 May 2008 16:09:00 -0800

you can warm up your lunch by placing a cell phone on either side and having one call the other? And if you have two people having a heated argument on those phones, you're liable to burn your lunch.

By: EricGjerde

EricGjerde — Wed, 28 May 2008 22:55:37 -0800

And if you have two people having a heated argument on those phones, you're liable to burn your lunch. ... or perhaps run the risk of throwing your lunch in their faces, as they yammer away at ear-splitting volume on their stupid mobiles, oblivious to the outside world.