Could You Resist? This Belgian TV Stunt Got Millions of Views in Just 24 Hrs (Hint: It Involves Guns)
- Posted on April 12, 2012 at 12:53pm by
Liz Klimas
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TNT, a cable television channel whose slogan is “We Know Drama,” added a little — actually a lot — of drama to an unassuming town square in Belgium as part of an advertisement. It’s an understatement to say spectators were surprised.
It all started with this: a big red button in the middle of the square with the instruction “push to add drama.”
Who could resist? When curiosity finally killed the cat and a couple residents pushed the button, mayhem ensued. Paramedics dropping a patient’s body. Cyclists running into the emergency vehicle and starting a brawl with the responders. A woman riding by on a motorcycle in her underwear. Cops squealing in for a full on shoot out. And a football team rescuing one of the gunned downed bodies as everyone takes off. That’s quite a lot of fan fare to announce the launch of the channel in Belgium.
See the drama for yourself by pushing play:
Perhaps more priceless though are the spectators’ reactions, which we’ve pulled together for you to see in these screenshots below.
Here’s how onlookers felt when they realized it was a marketing scheme.
So, would you say TNT knows drama? Given that within a day of posting its stunt on YouTube the clip has gotten nearly 4.5 million hits, it is a slogan with which many would probably agree.
[H/T Gizmodo]
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Comments (109)
miamisammy
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 4:13pmI recall another big red button sitting on top of a 2700 page pile of paper with
Report Post »an idiot clown saying “You have to push the button to see whats in the
2700 pages”.
McNamara
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 5:30pmLOL! Perfect!
Report Post »Psychosis
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 6:13pmroflmao
freakin priceless !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Report Post »Al Gator
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 6:36pmI love it! But instead of a clown, I’d like to substitute an old Twilight Zone skit.
The devil comes into the house, puts the button on the table, looks at the inhabitants and says “push this button, and you will get one million dollars, but when you push this button, someone you don’t even know will die.”
The woman gets weak, and pushes the button. “Heck, someone we don’t even know will die anyway.”
As soon as she pushes the button, the devil shows up and puts one million on the table, and picks up the button.
The woman asks “What are you going to do with that?”
The devil smiles and says, “I‘m going to give it to someone you don’t even know, with the same offer.”
After he left, the two look at each other, and the tension begins.
Priceless.
Report Post »Stephen Markovich
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 8:16pmtoo funny!!!
Report Post »Libertarian
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 9:25pmThat was great! Out of the box thinking, kudos to the brainchild of that.
Report Post »Unix
Posted on April 13, 2012 at 11:41amNice one Centurian! MIAMISAMMY wins the prize!
Report Post »koyettsu
Posted on April 13, 2012 at 2:31pmlol that is great!
Report Post »Tom K
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 4:11pmThat was like Sugar Frosted Flakes – They’re GREAT ! That gag could work in the good ole’ U.S.A., except for the “ gun play ” because a few Conceiled Carry Folks just might take out the bad guys, ya’ know what I mean ? ! ? ! Ah, what fun !
Report Post »isay
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 3:35pmI needed that :)
Report Post »txbigfoot
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 4:03pmG R E A T!!!!!
and I will use caps!
Report Post »Meyvn
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 5:58pmMe too. That was damn funny! hehe.
Report Post »Patriot of My America
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 6:20pmMost Excellent Dude….ROLFLOL ditto,,,, ditto…..!!!
Report Post »OhioRifleman
Posted on April 13, 2012 at 6:57amhttp://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=bullsht+button
This button will make you an instant office hero. Just use some double-sided adhesive to stick it to the side of a filing cabinet and wait for it. Someone with a sense of humor will push it in less than an hour.
Report Post »dontbotherme
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 3:13pmhaHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! :D
Report Post »Marci
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 3:37pmThat’s fantastic!
Report Post »Larry E
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 3:09pmOkay, a stupid question. Why are the signs in English if this is in Belgium where French and Flemish are the two primary languages? It’s like doing something like this in the USA and having the signs in Polish or German.
Report Post »Red herring
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 3:20pmI lived there for several years. Most educated people there speak english even in some of their smaller towns.
Report Post »lilnomics
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 4:05pmYou couldn‘t pull a stunt like that here without getting everybody to sign waivers because the attorney’s would be afraid of a lawsuit for emotional distress. Kind of takes the fun out of things.
But that was freaking hilarious.
Report Post »Snake
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 4:10pmOnly in wonderful America do we ONLY learn english, while the rest of the world learns a minumum of the native langauge and english.
Our skewls r awsum!
Report Post »Balpit
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 4:32pmPoussoir pour ajouter le drame
Report Post »LegionOfOne
Posted on April 13, 2012 at 4:34amNospiediet, lai draama.
Report Post »Mainer forever
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 3:00pmThat was freaking AWSOME!!!!!
Report Post »Xyskalla
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 3:29pmWhere can I get a button like that?
Report Post »EqualJustice
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 3:41pmStaples and it says.. THAT WAS EASY! hahahaha
Report Post »PointBreak
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 3:00pmSadly if they tried this in America the lawsuits would never end. All of the brown people who were there would have PTSD and be ‘permanently disabled’. Handicapped placards for everyone!
Report Post »SoNick
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 3:29pmand of course, you’re not a racist.
Report Post »garylee123
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 3:29pmPlus a real gunfight from the armed citizen.
Freedom, Justice, Honor
Report Post »BluifoxEd
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 5:30pm@pointblank. Regardless. You are right.
Report Post »FlowerBell
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 5:52pmPOINTBREAK is not a racist.
Report Post »He is a race-realist
tharpdevenport
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 2:53pmReminds me of the late comedian Robert Schimmel’s joke about getting an e-mail with the subject line: Are You Curious?
“Well, I am now!”
Needless to say, what happened in the joke when he opened the e-mail, which he said was based on a real life experience, is not something I can post here. ;-)
Report Post »mitchrx7
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 2:43pmBANG! I was in fear for my life, sorry about the hole in you……actor!
Report Post »JamesLarson33
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 2:29pm“This was better than all the 3 Bourne movies!”
More comments from the “Dramatic” Video http://bit.ly/HuJT2Y
Report Post »USAMEDIC3008
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 2:49pmLike watching
Report Post »MASH
Dragnet
Jersey Shore
Saints football out takes
And MSNBC news
karen162
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 2:13pmThat was freaking awesome!! Why can’t our broadcasters have such imagination?
Report Post »tMC
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 2:34pmBecause- it would probably be illegal to do it in the states. It could endanger those people watching… Your govt is protecting you! :p
Report Post »SgtB
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 2:42pmI thought that TNT was an American owned network.
Report Post »thetreyman
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 8:52pmyes, by ted turner in fact.
Report Post »blazingaway
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 2:09pmThis is what the Liberal, communistic, socialist, marxist, progressive, race baiting Democratic party constantly does in the drive by media … they just don’t tell you at the end of the show … you’re always left wondering and changed for the worse or moved by The Hegelian Dialectic
Report Post »amendment1
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 2:02pmThey could not do that in the states because the person who pushed the button would be allowed to sue TNT for pain and suffering for being forced to watch such “horrible” acts.
Report Post »Baddoggy
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 2:19pmI was thinking the same thing. If an actor got hurt, he would be the one on the hook. Sad….
Report Post »searching for the Truth
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 2:02pmThey are sharp – a lot of free advertizement.
Report Post »Snaker
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 2:00pmSo… the next time there’s a REAL shootout, robbery, assault, or traffic accident, everyone will just stand around with their thumbs up their bazinga and DO NOTHING! … thinking it’s a stunt, and potentially getting in the LINE OF FIRE…
Report Post »Real cute TNT… How’s about someone blows up your home-office-studios…. ?
NAH, it’s just a STUNT!!!!! Right…..
karen162
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 2:12pmOh for the love of Pete. I’m pretty sure people can tell the difference between fake acting and a real life scenario where you are in the line of fire.
The obvious button and the sign and then things happening as soon as you push it and the obvious staged fight….c’mon. People are just not that stupid to confuse that with something happening in real life.
Report Post »Jeff f.
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 2:22pmOnly if their is a big red button in the middle of the street.
Report Post »THX-1138
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 3:06pm@Karen162
“People are just not that stupid to confuse that with something happening in real life.”
People, no. Democrats, maybe…
Report Post »Master_and_Commander
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 1:58pmHaha when they started shooting, I‘m surprised people didn’t start running…
That was pretty awesome, well done TNT
Report Post »USAMEDIC3008
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 2:55pmGood thing it didnt happen here
Report Post »All the CWP holders join in
It would be a bloodbath
The only problem for me would be
not shooting the babe on the motorcycle
WhiteFang
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 1:35pmI would not be able to resist, I would push the button.
Report Post »pschlentz
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 1:46pmIf it’s not working for you, go to youtube.com and type:
Report Post »A DRAMATIC SURPRISE ON A QUIET SQUARE or
Belgium TV Stunt
You’ll find it…
jakartaman
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 1:30pmGreat imaginative marketing – Koodo’s
Report Post »SREGN
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 1:27pmIf that was NYC no one would have noticed.
Report Post »Ruckus_Tom
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 1:26pmThat’s not drama. All the “actors” should have been modern, honest-to-God gladiators playing for real.
Senetor Gracchus from The Gladiator having lunch with Gauis discussing the new emperer Commodos:
“Rome (in this case Belgium – Belgium? Where the military is unionized? Huh.) is the mob. Conjure magic for them and they’ll be distracted. Take away their freedom and still they’ll roar. The beating heart of Rome is not the marble of the senate, it’s the sand of the coliseum. He’ll bring them death – and they will love him for it.”
Bring in live rounds for the gun shootout, have the paramedic actually beat the hell of the cycle rider – maybe pull up a cobblestone and bash his head in – and, of course, have the pretty girl on the cycle riding around fully nude ….
And that will be drama.
Report Post »marine249
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 1:23pmThe new O-BO tv ad if we don;t raise TAXES on the rich
Report Post »onetoomany
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 1:22pmFunny, very well executed.
Report Post »Glenfin
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 1:16pmOne of us packing heat would have been involved in the shootout had it been done in the U.S.!
Report Post »RightUnite
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 1:29pmAhhhh… Nah… Someone illegally carrying, ya….
Report Post »TORCH9
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 1:12pmWhat Funn!!!………..
Report Post »KickinBack
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 1:02pmNice advertisement…Yet why did TNT have to do it in BELGIUM…America not good enough for you Mr. Turner??
Report Post »mom4times
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 1:08pmfunny stuff :D
Report Post »mom4times
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 1:09pmProbably he was worried that someone would take offense to it. : /
Report Post »witehous66
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 1:22pmBecause you can’t even begin to get all of the permits and permission you would need to do it here…
Report Post »s0ck_monkey
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 1:23pmNo, I think it’s because in America the following lawsuits would hit the courts:
Caused Mental Anguish for what turned out to be no reason at all
Alledged hearing loss from being in the proximity of the “police” firing blanks
Bicycle riders not wearing enough protective gear
Abuse of a patient (or corpse) by medical professionals
Reimbursement of used cellphone minutes because people were calling friends to tell them what was happening
Reimbursement of electricity used to recharge their cellphones after shooting videos of the “drama”
Reimbursement of internet provider fees because they uploaded the video they took to youtube
New gun control legislation for guns that only shoot blanks (that way, no one really gets hurt anymore)
New city noise and fire codes for using pyrotechnics inside city limits (the blanks in the guns)
Parents of chilfren that witnessed it will need money for counseling for the rest of their lives for seeing a woman in her underwear
I think you get the point by now :)
Report Post »Joe Bonham
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 1:25pmHe was probably worried one of Zimmerman’s relatives would jump into the shootout with real bullets!
Report Post »dblaess
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 1:30pmMost likely because in the U.S. someone with a gun, not knowing this was a put on, would have steped in and there would be real shot persons.
Report Post »KickinBack
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 1:47pmThanks Monkey! Good points…But you forgot one…Union fees and breaks for the actors involved…
Report Post »AmazingGrace8
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 1:58pm@sock_monkey
Love your response! Funny…and true.
Report Post »s0ck_monkey
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 2:27pm@Grace…Thanks! It’s nice to know there are people who appreciate humor and sarcasm without calling me a troll :P
Report Post »proliance
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 4:34pmTNT did it in Belgium because they are launching the channel in Belgium. You might call it targeting your audience, or even use the word “advertising.”
Honestly, if you can’t figure out why they did it in Belgium, why not look it up instead of making assumptions and telling everyone how dumb you are?
Report Post »