In New York, they put up a fake Apple Store, and a queue for iPhones lined up for it
The Improv Everywhere team played a prank on New Yorkers by opening a fake Apple Store at the place of descent into the subway. Comedians placed huge Apple logos on the glass faces, brought fake Apple Store employees in uniform there and created an artificial queue of 50 people who allegedly stand behind the new iPhone X model. Some citizens believed that the store was real, got in line and refused to leave it, even after hearing that there were not enough smartphones for everyone.
The comedians decided that while the famous Grand Central store on Fifth Avenue is being rebuilt, New York needs a new Apple point of sale in the form of a glass cube. One team member noticed that the newly built glass elevators on 23rd Street look suspiciously similar to Apple Stores. When a new iPhone model went on sale, they decided it was time to use this similarity.
The participants of the drawing met in Madison Square Park. The action was not coordinated with anyone, so everything had to be done as quickly as possible: the comedians were worried that their plan would be shut down as soon as they placed giant Apple logos at the subway exit.
The uniform of the "store employees" was a classic azure color, although in reality Apple recently switched to dark blue suits.
Four people in orange vests depicted workers who install logos. Branded apples for the drawing had to look plausible, stick well to the surface and leave no traces behind. We managed to do all this.
When the logos were installed, it was time for the "employees" of the Apple Store. The store's employees have a tradition of lining up at the entrance and applauding those who buy the first iPhones on the day of the start of sales of the new model. Fake sellers clapped everyone who got out of the elevator, embarrassing random subway passengers.
Then the authors of the drawing lined up a queue of 50 people in front of the "store", who supposedly came to buy an iPhone X. Some people at the beginning of the queue had deck chairs with them, so that it seemed that they had been waiting for many hours.
Fake buyers got out of the elevator one by one or two by two. At the metro station, someone from the Improv Everywhere team would give them a white branded package with an empty iPhone box. Then they went up to the street and pretended to be happy with the "purchase".
There was even a fake correspondent in the team who asked random passers-by how they liked the new store.
Most New Yorkers believed that the store was real. There were also skeptics, but they turned out to be fewer than the authors of the draw expected: it's probably easier to believe that Apple started selling at a subway station than in a joke involving as many as 60 people.
This guy is one of the few who went down to the subway and looked at everything himself. On the way out, he said, laughing: "It's necessary to come up with such a thing!"
Passers-by, who believed the authors of the drawing, got in line in the hope of getting an iPhone X before everyone else. The jokers got worried: they were not going to waste anyone's time, so the "store employees" informed people that the phones were running out and only the first 50 people in the queue would receive them.
This pair of Apple lovers are just such gullible passers—by. Although several employees tried to convince them that they would definitely not get a new phone today, they insisted on staying in line "just in case." They were so friendly that in the end they were allowed to go down to the station and see for themselves. When the young people realized that this was a large-scale joke, they still wanted to go up to the street with packages and portray joy in order to become part of the prank. They liked the idea of deceiving passers-by.
Improv Everywhere is a New York comedy collective that arranges unexpected pranks in public places. Over 15 years, they have conducted more than 150 actions, including stopping time at New York Central Station, adding 100 fake employees to the Best Buy electronics store and letting random passersby lead a world-class orchestra in Manhattan.
Keywords: Apple | IPhone | Stores | New York | Queue | Shoppers | Raffle | Smartphones