# LG Prank Makes People Think It's The End Of The World - Amazing & hilarious! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 4, 2013, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lg-prank-makes-people-think-its-the-end-of-the-world-amazing-hilarious/667967 "2013-09-04T04:42:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lg-prank-makes-people-think-its-the-end-of-the-world-amazing-hilarious/667967/1 "2013-09-04T04:42:32Z")
[LG Prank Makes People Think It’s The End Of The World](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/03/lg-prank-spain_n_3861926.html?utm_hp_ref=technology) > [@](#): > > LG Electronics has figured out the best marketing strategy to win customers over … by scaring them away! It worked when they convinced elevator riders they were plummeting to their deaths and when they made men think hot ladies were watching them in the bathroom. Well, now LG’s team has scared the crap out of people once again – but this time in Spain. > > When these unsuspecting individuals entered the office, they were nervous about a job interview, not about the end of the world. That is, until the end of the world happened right before their very eyes! The IPS screen, disguised as a window, was so high-def that people were – apparently – ready to run when they saw the meteor drop. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lg-prank-makes-people-think-its-the-end-of-the-world-amazing-hilarious/667967/2 "2013-09-04T05:14:40Z")
If it came with some DVDs for me to prank my guests, I’d buy one. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lg-prank-makes-people-think-its-the-end-of-the-world-amazing-hilarious/667967/3 "2013-09-04T05:19:58Z")
That totally fucking rocked! ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lg-prank-makes-people-think-its-the-end-of-the-world-amazing-hilarious/667967/4 "2013-09-04T06:23:26Z")
I guess I’m old fashioned. If it’s even real, I think anybody who would scare people like that in an attempt to sell televisions is a complete and total cock. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lg-prank-makes-people-think-its-the-end-of-the-world-amazing-hilarious/667967/5 "2013-09-04T08:18:28Z")
Doesn’t sound very LG to me - more CN with CE tendencies. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lg-prank-makes-people-think-its-the-end-of-the-world-amazing-hilarious/667967/6 "2013-09-04T10:58:52Z")
Assuming the ‘interviewees’ were real (and do we know for sure they aren’t actors?), I’d have a bit more sympathy if they hadn’t agreed to appear in the finished commercial. I’d probably have a price myself, but I’d like to think it would be pretty high. Again assuming the whole thing wasn’t staged, I wonder if anyone refused to go along, and better yet, whether any fistfights broke out when people were informed what was going on. The guy with the beard looked like he was ready to start throwing punches, for one. That would have rocked, in my book. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lg-prank-makes-people-think-its-the-end-of-the-world-amazing-hilarious/667967/7 "2013-09-04T11:27:34Z")
…just watched the elevator one (linked in the article) and that was brilliant. As to whether or not the adverts work or not: well, I need a new monitor for the computer and I’m looking up LG monitors now! ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lg-prank-makes-people-think-its-the-end-of-the-world-amazing-hilarious/667967/8 "2013-09-04T12:04:48Z")
Never mind the meteors… 84 inches! I need a seven-foot TV now! ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lg-prank-makes-people-think-its-the-end-of-the-world-amazing-hilarious/667967/9 "2013-09-04T12:12:52Z")
That’s nice to watch, but I would have sued them into oblivion if they had pulled that prank on me. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lg-prank-makes-people-think-its-the-end-of-the-world-amazing-hilarious/667967/10 "2013-09-04T12:29:53Z")
I would have been mightily pissed off. Not so much for the prank, but if I’m going to make the effort to apply for a job and get time off work (assuming I’m working) to attend an interview and prep for it, I’d prefer that it be for a real job and not a publicity stunt. If those are real people as presented, I hope they were well-compensated for their time and “participation”. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lg-prank-makes-people-think-its-the-end-of-the-world-amazing-hilarious/667967/11 "2013-09-04T12:45:44Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > Doesn’t sound very LG to me - more CN with CE tendencies. My Geek-cred has totally gone up because I got this instantly 😃 ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lg-prank-makes-people-think-its-the-end-of-the-world-amazing-hilarious/667967/12 "2013-09-04T12:52:24Z")
There certainly are plenty of other ways to illustrate the quality of your sets than by scaring the shit out of unsuspecting people. It’s amusing to watch the reactions but I too would insist on handsome, willful compensation or I’d file suit and do my best to create an equally uncomfortable situation for them. ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lg-prank-makes-people-think-its-the-end-of-the-world-amazing-hilarious/667967/13 "2013-09-04T13:15:27Z")
Funny stuff. As to those of you saying that you’d sue LG (or the ad agency, anyway) over it: I wonder what your theory of the case might be? There is, so far as I know, no general duty not to play harmless pranks on people under US law; I admit that Spain may be more humorless. Nor, even assuming such a duty, do I see more than nominal damages (aside from the possibility of lost pay/time for interview/prep). ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lg-prank-makes-people-think-its-the-end-of-the-world-amazing-hilarious/667967/14 "2013-09-04T13:19:13Z")
My guess is that it’s a lot cheaper and easier to pay actors for something like this than it would be to deal with any potential liability issues from using real people at real job interviews. (Edit: Even disregarding lawsuits, you’d likely have a percentage of people that just wouldn’t agree to be in the commercial.) I mean, companies have done some pretty ass-stupid things, so that’s just a guess on my part, but still, I’d bet 5 bucks all those people are paid actors. ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lg-prank-makes-people-think-its-the-end-of-the-world-amazing-hilarious/667967/15 "2013-09-04T13:39:44Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > I would have been mightily pissed off. Not so much for the prank, but if I’m going to make the effort to apply for a job and get time off work (assuming I’m working) to attend an interview and prep for it, I’d prefer that it be for a real job and not a publicity stunt. If those are real people as presented, I hope they were well-compensated for their time and “participation”. It’d be especially harsh given the employment situation in Spain… I hope they were actors. ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lg-prank-makes-people-think-its-the-end-of-the-world-amazing-hilarious/667967/16 "2013-09-04T15:25:38Z")
Key fact - they win customers not by scaring the customers but by scaring other people. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lg-prank-makes-people-think-its-the-end-of-the-world-amazing-hilarious/667967/17 "2013-09-04T17:14:36Z")
That looked like pretty obvious actors to me. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lg-prank-makes-people-think-its-the-end-of-the-world-amazing-hilarious/667967/18 "2013-09-04T17:37:52Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > That looked like pretty obvious actors to me. If they weren’t actors, then they were morons. If it’s a real window, then objects far outside it (e.g. the cityscape) would be subject to [parallax movement:](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parallax) if you move (for example) far enough to the left, then objects way out there will at some point be obscured by the left edge of the window frame. If it’s just a display screen, then the entire image is in the same plane as the “window” frame. No matter how far to the left you move, objects “way out there” in the image will always be visible. It will be immediately and intuitively obvious to a viewer that they are staring at a flat, 2-dimensional display screen instead of a transparent window, no matter how realistic the colors and image quality may be. If you want to create a more realistic illusion of a cityscape far outside the window, you need to track the viewer’s head and adjust the on-screen image accordingly. [here’s a very realistic “window” effect,](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jd3-eiid-Uw&feature=player_detailpage#t=215) enabled by tracking the viewer’s head location in 3D space. Watch the entire video from the begining to learn more. ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lg-prank-makes-people-think-its-the-end-of-the-world-amazing-hilarious/667967/19 "2013-09-04T17:39:09Z")
> [@gotpasswords](#): > > Never mind the meteors… 84 inches! I need a seven-foot TV now! I am holding out for 100. When 100" TVs get down to about 4K in price I am getting one. ---
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lg-prank-makes-people-think-its-the-end-of-the-world-amazing-hilarious/667967/20 "2013-09-04T18:06:00Z")
My guess is it is one of two scenarios… first is they are all actors. Second is that they are real people interviewing for a job… probably with LG who are there for their “final” interview which in reality is just a formality. At the end they are offered the job and the option of signing the release along with a little fame especially within their new company. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lg-prank-makes-people-think-its-the-end-of-the-world-amazing-hilarious/667967.md?page=2)