More Nathan For You

Yeah I know this didn't go over too well the other day. But give some of these a chance.

Or don't.

I think people will like this one -- even people who don't like prank comedy.

In this one, a coffee shop is losing business to Starbucks. Nathan's solution? Exploit the free speech protections afforded by "parody" and put up an imitation Starbucks coffee shop-- same name, same trade dress, same logos, same coffee -- but claim it's legal because it's a parody. The name won't be "Starbucks" exactly. It'll be "Dumb Starbucks," a "parody" of Starbucks, but the "dumb" will be in very small letters so most people will just see Starbucks.

Here are the two bits I think even people who don't like prank humor will like:

In this clip, he gets advice from a lawyer, but then cons the lawyer into signing a contract that says the lawyer will cover all court costs and judgments if he's sued.

You can't get upset about pranking a lawyer who didn't read the fine print.

In the next clip, his Dumb Starbucks concept pranks all of the cable news shows, as they all start reporting on it as if this is a real attempt to challenge Starbucks trademarks, rather than just a goof by a weird little troll.

Super-serious Breaking News Man Shep Smith gets punked because he likes being punked.

More vids below.

The Problem: A small electronics store is being driven out of business by a nearby Best Buy.

The Plan: Take advantage of Best Buy's price-match guarantee by offering to sell 52" tvs for $1 each. Run over to Best Buy and demand they sell you the tvs for $1 each. Meanwhile, make sure no customers can actually take advantage of your own advertised sale by putting annoying and dangerous obstacles in their way.

Unfortunately, this is just a teaser clip. You don't get to see the plan in action.

The Problem: A petting zoo needs free advertising.

The Plan: Fake a viral video of a "Hero Pig" saving a baby goat from drowning.

The Problem: An antique store is in a bad neighborhood with a lot of bars in it.

The Plan: Keep the store open until after the bars close. Put a sign outside saying "Free Pizza." Put up another sign saying "You Break It You Bought It, No Exceptions."

Place the pizza in a maze of tightly-crowded shelves which will insure that drunks stumbling out of bars at 2 am in search of free pizza will destroy a lot of marked-up merchandise.

The Problem: Liquor stores lose many sales due to laws prohibiting selling alcohol to minors.

The Plan: Permit minors to buy alcohol, but then hold it in the store until they are 21. Nathan's theory is that minors only want to own alcohol to "be cool," so they should be okay with this deal.

The Problem: Moving companies spend a lot of money on labor costs.

The Plan: Create a fake exercise regimen called "The Movement" with a charismatic founder who claims he lost 100 pounds by just picking things up and moving them around the house. Put out a quickie book and get the fake guru on TV "news" shows. Then you can actually charge health-conscious people for the privilege of moving furniture for a furniture moving company.

This is one of the more elaborate media-punking stunts.

This is a really good one. Once again, the media is the target being punked, and I assume no one will be too bothered to see them made fools of.

Oh and open thread until the next one. I need a little break.

posted by Ace of Spades at 05:28 PM

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