The season's most amazing new winter accessory has turned out—for better or worse—to be a deviously clever ad campaign in disguise.
The video below pitches SkiBrogues, a fascinating new ski boot with an ingenious retractable ski. No more lugging around those bulky skis—they quickly and delightfully fold up into the boot itself, James Bond style. And what a boot it is. Made of the finest Italian leather, it "looks really stylish in a bar, après-ski," our low-key British pitchman tells us. The YouTube description confirms these SkiBrogues are "stylish and functional both on and off-piste."
The video points to a website, SkiBrogues.com, where you can ostensibly purchase a pair of these outlandishly awesome boots. (They're not cheap, either. A pair will set you back anywhere from $600 to $1,600.)
But wait. Actually, it looks like they're all sold out. Yep, they're out of stock across the board. And oh look, what is that in the sidebar? A banner advertising ski packages from rental-car company Hertz.
Fake-product advertising can be irritating, but this campaign, from London agency Corke Wallis, gets everything right. The video is extremely well produced and believable—the retraction demo, in particular, is hypnotizing. And the banner on the website is just so unassuming that you have to smile. Being fooled never felt so good.
Now, can someone work on a real prototype for this, please?
CREDITS
Client: Hertz
Agency: Corke Wallis, London
