Some companies are known for throwing their future employees curve balls in their interviews to test their mettle and ability to think on the spot – for example Google asking candidates how they would weigh their own head.
LG Electronics has taken things to a new level though, playing an end-of-the-world prank on four of their interviewees for both a laugh and a test of their new ultra high-definition 82 inch TV screen.
Greet, hand over CV, scream for your life
Dubbed the scariest job interview ever, applicants witnessed a massive meteor strike through the office ‘window’ destroying their city in Chile and sending a cloud of debris towards them.
While it seems almost cruel to laugh at these hopefuls who seconds earlier were trying to look professional, point, cower and scream at the end of the world, it’s undeniable proof of a product’s ability to deliver what it promises.
The prank has now also been turned into an advert to air across Chile.
Masterminding the prank
The aim of the prank was to show just how life-like the image quality was. So LG minions constructed a fake office with the 82 inch screen staged to look like a window overlooking the city.
Surround sound was installed for extra authenticity, and of course hidden cameras positioned behind pot plants and desktop trinkets.
The applicants – two men, two women – were then filmed as they entered the room for their job interview. As the manager flips through their CVs and makes small talk, the sky suddenly darkens, a rumbling noise starts shaking the office, and a meteor breaks through the clouds, heading straight for the city.
Unable to concentrate, the applicants stare slack jawed out the window, point in disbelieve, and then start to panic, falling over chairs and screaming as a gigantic cloud of debris heads straight for the window.
Not content to pull the plug on the prank there, the drama escalates as the lights are cut and the office goes pitch black with night vision cameras filming them crawl on their hands and knees.
After a few minutes, the petrified interviewees are put out of their misery as the lights are switched on, the door bursts open and crew flood in laughing and pointing to cameras.
Does this give you some ideas for next April Fools Day?