There's one form of prank advertisement that will surely survive long after all the telekinetic coffee-shop surprises and sentient vending machines have faded away. And that is the celebrity-surprising-the-superfan video.
It's irresistible. We've written about so many of them over the years—our favorite is probably the one David Beckham did for Adidas around the London Olympics in 2012. They just never get old. Fans are shuttled someplace, blatantly lied to about what's going on, and then get shocked, in a good way, when the celeb—their favorite celeb, of course—suddenly appears out of nowhere.
Without fail, tears are shed. And dammit if you don't find yourself grinning stupidly at the screen every time. It's both an embarrassment and a triumph, and succeeds like clockwork.
Here's the latest one from the U.K.: Ellie Goulding for MasterCard. Best friends Martha and Lucy, 20-year-old students at King's College, were falsely told they were recording a cover of Goulding's new track "Army" for a documentary about music superfans.
But of course, they were in for a surprise.
The spot, by McCann London, is part of MasterCard's "Priceless Surprises" campaign and celebrates the 2016 BRIT Awards. Goulding and other artists, including Mark Ronson, are taking part in surprises and gigs, helping MasterCard cardholders share their love of music.
CREDITS
Agency: McCann London
Chief Creative Officers: Rob Doubal, Laurence Thomson
Creative Directors: Matt Crabtree, Simon Hepton
Creatives: Matt Crabtree, Simon Hepton, Jean-Laurent Py
Managing Partner: Tom Bedwell
Business Lead: Oliver Morgan
Account Manager: Lauren Benezra
Planning Partner: Karen Crum
Project Director: Metz Fasano
Production Company: Craft London
Director: Blake Claridge
Head of Production: Sergio Lopez
Senior Producer: Zara Balfour
Line Producer: Ben Greenacre
Director of Photography: Berndt Wiese
Sound Recordists: Kieron Wolfson, Andy Gleed
Editor: Max Downey, Phil Conway at Craft
Sound Mix: Tim Sutton at Craft
Grade: Framestore