Sick of your significant other skipping ahead and watching your favorite streaming shows without you? Lock them into a faithful TV-viewing relationship with a high-tech pair of series commitment rings, thanks to U.K. ice cream brand Cornetto.
The marketer, which tends to advertise around themes of teen love, created special rings that connect to streaming apps, and use near field communications to block access to TV shows you both watch unless your partner is nearby—thus putting an end to sneaking around with services like Netflix while feigning fidelity.
A two-minute video explains the concept, and illustrates the dangers of cheating—reaching its high point when one young woman pretends, in brilliantly unconvincing fashion, that she hasn't seen the episode she's watching with her boyfriend.
The idea of rings that forcibly prevent viewers from such dalliances is so silly and au courant that it almost doesn't matter that the details of its functionality aren't entirely ironed out.
Fast Company observes that Cornetto is still negotiating with streaming apps. And ultimately, the obstacle posed by the technology seems of the kind that could easily be circumvented if the cheating party borrows a friend's login, or simply watches elsewhere—though such out-of-the-way efforts would really just make the betrayal all the more unforgivable.
Cornetto is promising to distribute the rings online, and it's not clear how many are available. It's also not clear what the range on the tech is, so apartment dwellers who get a pair should remain vigilant—lest it betray to your partner that you're two-timing with the neighbor, by binge-watching or otherwise.
