New Prank Ad Shows How Prank Advertising Might Be Going Too Far – Watch ExFEARiential

Do you know what prank advertising is? It is basically putting unsuspecting people in a situation that generates an extreme reaction through the use of a product. Some call it 'Experiential' advertising where people actually experience a product through the prank or some kind of seemingly 'real' situation. Some of the more popular examples of this are the Pepsi Max ad where NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon pranks a car salesman by scaring the crap out if him during a test drive . Another involves an LG Ultra HD TV that was used as a fake window, in a fake office situation to make people think a meteor slammed into the Earth. The third was a Nivea deodorant ad done in Germany that tricked people in an airport into thinking they were wanted by the police.

While these ads will definitely get your attention. some think they might be going too far and are not as effective as you might think because the reactions can be so extreme.

To illustrate this point, the John St. advertising agency in Toronto made a prank video, called ExFEARiential, that really goes to the extreme by showing a woman's baby being stolen to 'test' a deodorant and a home invasion to sell a particular brand of beer, which were all completely fake, but drove home the point that maybe the advertising world is relying too much on this tactic and could have very serious consequences.

See the ExFEARiential video below, followed by the three actual prank ads mentioned above. What do you think....are ad agencies going too far? You decide.