Telekinetic Coffee Shop Surprise

Why it works

A hidden-camera stunt promoting Sony’s 2013 remake of Carrie. A New York coffee shop was rigged with a false wall, remote-controlled tables and chairs and spring-loaded books and pictures, then filled with actors and a stuntman. When a clumsy coffee drinker crosses a young woman, she appears to take telekinetic revenge as tables slide, books fly and real patrons recoil. Posted to YouTube on 7 October, eleven days before the film opened, it drew close to a million views on its first day and about 13 million in two. Made by Thinkmodo, it is studied as the defining example of “prankvertising”, a staged public scare designed to be shared rather than broadcast, and for the physical craft hidden inside what looks like found footage. Unruly ranked it among the ten most-shared ads of 2013, and it won the 2014 Webby for branded unscripted online film.