Prankster ‘flogged hot dog water’ to gullible festival-goers for £30 by claiming it had health benefits
Scores of punters purchased the water, believing it could increase brain function, help with weight loss and give a more youthful appearance
A PRANKSTER tricked festival-goers into forking out £30 for bottles of unfiltered hot dog water, reports claim.
Performance artist Douglas Bevans told customers the bottles, which contained a floating frankfurter, had incredible health benefits.
Bevans boiled about 100 organic beef hot dogs and popped them into what appeared to be recycled Voss bottles to sell at the annual Car Free event in Vancouver.
Scores of gullible punters purchased the product, believing it could increase brain function, help with weight loss and give a more youthful appearance, he claimed.
The artist said he sold 60 litres worth of hot dog water at US $37.99 a bottle from his stall at the festival last Sunday.
Among other marketing tricks at his booth were fake customer testimonials and lengthy descriptions of the water's properties.
The promotional materials read: "Because Hot Dog Water and perspiration resemble each other, when you drink Hot Dog Water it bypasses the lymphatic system whereas other waters have to go through your filtering system, so really, Hot Dog Water has three times as much uptake as coconut water.
"Hot Dog Water in its absurdity hopes to encourage critical thinking related to product marketing and the significant role it can play in our purchasing choices."
Bevans said he came up with the stunt when he questioned the ridiculous marketing and health claims behind other products.
He told The Canadian Press: "I thought to myself ‘I bet I could sell hot dog water’.
"We noticed that some people were rubbing lip balm on their crow’s feet and they were swearing their crow’s feet were disappearing before their eyes.
"We’re helping people, empowering them to use informed decisions in their purchasing choices. That is the message behind this.
"Art, I think, has a way of doing this better than if this was a public service announcement. There’s an image attached to it, that it’s ridiculous."
He said many customers were immediately impressed by by the supposed health benefits.
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