Volkswagen has been having trouble with cars lately, so it's moved on to dogs.
Or so it would appear from this latest prank video from the automaker's Dutch division and ad agency Achtung! You see, VW makes an app called My Volkswagen, which lets you control elements of your vehicle remotely. How cool would it be, VW thought, if they could make something similar for your dog?
"Just like the My Volkswagen app, the Connected Dog is designed to make the owner's life easier," the agency says. "The owner no longer needs to be present to walk the dog. After he remotely unlocks the doggy door, he is able to track the dog through both GPS and a live cam, while the application enables the ability to provide the dog with location-specific voice commands and rewards for spotless behavior (or "being a good boy")."
See the Connected Dog in action here:
Achtung! made a similarly goofy video last year, in which it showed a self-driving VW baby stroller. Both videos are a little strange, in that it's never made entirely clear that they're joking. The new video is particularly perplexing, as VW says it recruited (aka, wasted the time of) noted Dutch dog whisperer Martin Gaus for the project.
Maybe save this stuff for April 1, guys.