Jeff Gordon Gets Vengeance on a Blogger

Bloggers are annoying as eff. Even I think that, and I am one.

Last year Jeff Gordon shot a commercial for Pepsi Max in which he "pranked" people by unexpectedly taking them on a fast, wild ride.

Well, a blogger with the Gawker group claimed it was "fake." (Many commenters actually think the first video was fake, to one extent or another.)

So many people are probably taking some satisfaction in Jeff Gordon "pranking" the blogger who claimed the earlier was fake, by now taking him on a high-speed "escape" from pursuing "police."

Below is the first video -- the one claimed as "fake" -- and then a vengeance video that definitely isn't. (?)

I always wonder about the legality of "pranks." Apparently Pepsi Max got permission from... Gawker to do this. That seems to be how they do it -- they get permission not from the actual target of the prank, but from a relative, friend, or associate.

I don't know the law on "pranks" and I don't really understand how a third party can give you permission to subject someone else to false imprisonment and so forth. I suppose maybe it's not a complete defense, but permission from a relation can be taken as evidence that the prankster believed the prank would be appreciated in the end.

I also, of course, strongly suspect that there is a large cash payment, made just after the prank, to get a signature on a release. And that probably helps an awful lot.

posted by Ace at 12:23 PM

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