Pranks are most admirable when they evoke a liberation of expression and challenge the authority of appearances. While almost all pranks mock or undermine kneel-to-authority conditioning, some do more, by expanding our notions of reality by gifting us with a bizarre image or metamorphosis. At a single stroke a prank can dissect our social fabric, exposing a rigid behavioral structure underneath. Charlie Todd causes bizarre, hilarious, and unexpected public scenes: Seventy synchronized dancers in storefront windows, “ghostbusters” running through the New York Public Library, and the annual no-pants subway ride. At TEDxBloomington he shows how his group, Improv Everywhere, uses these scenes to bring people together.

Prankvertising is a new form of advertising and online fun where brands target anonymous individuals with a shocking experience. One can encounter many branded pranks across diverse product categories like food, beverages and cosmetics including companies like Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Heineken, and Herbal Essences. Most frequent objectives set for branding pranks are: maximizing reach and brand visibility, generating attention, eliciting strong emotions and providing a compelling portrayal of brand core ideas as seen below.

LG Ultra HD 84″ TV PRANK (METEOR EXPLODES DURING JOB INTERVIEW)