Telekinetic Coffee Shop: great marketing or downright dangerous?

Spoiler alert! If you haven’t seen the Telekinetic Coffee Shop YouTube video that’s been doing the rounds this week yet, and don’t want me to ruin it for you, watch it before you read on.

You may wonder what a trailer for the remake of the 1970s horror Carrie is doing on a DMA blog. True it has something to do with how funny we found it in the office, but it’s also a brilliant example of content marketing that has had over 39 million hits since it was posted on 7 October. As well as going viral, it’s shocked the nationals and the trade press. Brand Republic asks whether the advertising world has been overrun by an elite cabal of sadists and school bullies while The Guardian has dubbed it “a marketing heart-attacktic too far”.

And it’s also got everyone talking, not just about the film, but the advert and the making of it. Were any of the people in the coffee shop real customers or not? How did they get away with it? I’m thinking health and safety and the litigious culture in the US. Starting the clip off with a behind-the-scenes look at how the special effects crew created the telekinetic coffee shop was genius. You felt like you were in on the joke, which made it all the more appealing.

Is this a one-off or a new type of content marketing? One where reality TV meets Fonejacker-style pranks? I for one will be on my guard. Come to think of it is cruel and in poor taste or a genius bit of marketing? We’d love to hear your views.

By Smarayda Christoforou, Copywriter, DMA