There Are Many Reasons to be Rich, The Hotelicopter is Not One of Them
// March 31st, 2009 // No Comments » // Design, General, Technology and Gadgets
Like many others before me I have often pondered what amazing and exclusive doors would be opened should I happen to find an extra million pounds in my pocket. Should I find myself in that position I might for instance buy myself a Lamborghini Gallardo, this house and perhaps if I was feeling particularly flush a nice Rothko to adorn my huge new pristine walls.
I’ve also often thought about the benefits of owning one of the ridiculously impractical, but jaw-droppingly beautiful WallyPower boats. But even during my most extravagant travel fantasies I can’t recall imagining cruising in a flying machine such as this thing…
No, no, no, no no.
Not only is it obscenely ugly it’s based on a 40 year old design that was rejected by the old Soviet Military which leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to feeling reassured by the latest technology and highest build quality.
The makers of the Hotelicopter are promising to take up to 18 “lucky” (they’d probably have to be if they expected to survive the trip) passengers on short stop cruises across the US beginning on June 26th.
Thankfully though, this abomination is just a clever hoax. It’s actually part of a little viral campaign to generate buzz around the new Yotel chain. This imaginary sasquatch of the skies gained coverage on all of the leading tech and lux blogs picking up thousands of comments, a few hundred Twitter followers and a couple of thousand Facebook Fans along the way.
The clever part of this campaign is that the first time people saw pictures of the Hotelicopter rooms, they did so expecting to see rooms fit for the rich and famous, the fact they were in a helicopter explained why you were only seeing a plasticy, but funky little cabin.
By looking at these exclusive but tiny rooms you were unconsciously convincing yourself that these rooms were cool and luxurious despite their small size.
Now the news has broken that this was just a hoax, the real Yotel cabins don’t look so bad all of a sudden, in fact they look positively inviting.
Overall, this is an amazingly well thought out and executed viral campaign that goes well beyond the typical and run-of-the-mill loopy advertising that is the norm for less creative agencies. Maximum kudos to the creators. One small suggestion though… the Yotel site itself should be next on the agenda.
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