YouTube Lad from Lagos stranded in London

Pity if you will poor Prince Obi - our fave Lad from Lagos who last month made a YouTube appeal for assistance - because the poor bloke's apparently stranded in London having flown in to do business with one James Alexander Smith. Sadly, it's evident that Smith has led Prince Obi a merry dance. For shame... Lovely. You …

[Dale Richards]

FFS

This is obviously some viral marketing bullshit. Do us a favour, El Reg, stop giving it airtime. You're just making it worse. :(

[Anonymous Coward]

Viral marketing hoax.

Well, I'd bet on it. I'd also bet that sofa on which he made the first couple of videos is located somewhere in either Hampstead or Islington.

[Anonymous Coward]

Oscar Winner

This guy is good. I'm not sure whats going on, its a bit too professional to be a real 419'er. Its too scripted, and too stereo-type conforment - its smacks of acting and makeup and setup.

[Jamie 19]

That is good comedy

don't need to say anything else

whorebooks

hehehehe

[lansalot]

brilliant !

"Whore books" ! Brilliant !

Think they've shot their bolt with the whole soap-opera bit a little now though. Could have strung this one out a little longer for our entertainment, perhaps a bit more banter between the two before the lucky "Prince" came to London but yeah - good fun while it lasted :)

[Dale 3]

Marketing

I wonder what it is they're advertising, but I don't care enough to find out.

[AC 4]

i hear

the police station might be able to fit him in.

he just needs to go in, tell his story and they'll take pity and give him a room.

although actually maybe that's a bad plan as my tax cash monies would then be spent keeping the fucker fed and alive. hmm.

[redbook]

Today the news is sponsored by..

Oh come on El Reg.. this is a viral. Three times you've covered it. Careful, people might start thinking you were being paid to..

[Anonymous Coward]

viral

it's definitely some kind of viral marketing thing, you can see the sound boom in the bottom of the video at the end.

[Rob Beard]

Re: FFS

Oh come on, it's just a bit of a laugh. Looks like some guy who does acting and makes movies decided to do a 419 video. Don't take it so bloody seriously, if you're not interested, there is no one forcing you to read the article or watch the video.

I dunno some people are just too up tight.

Rob

[Winkypop]

whore books indeed

This whole utube advert scam is as fake as a pair of giant silicone jubbs.

[peyton?]

Prince Obi should've enlisted

help from El Reg for a more authenticate prank. (I recall the first of a certain month when not everyone was so quick with skepticism.)

I agree with some though - this one cheesed it up a bit. Would've been lulzy if they'd strung it out a bit more.

[dickwillard]

@redbook

methinks you're on the right track. I suspect Lester Haines is holding the camera.

[Paul 131]

getting very boring

Don't you have anything interesting to report?

[yairmohr]

Haines, I'm not the only one who has you...!

@dickwillard, you're absolutely right. I have suspected it for a while, and by now I'm most certain that this was Lester's campaign from the very beginning. The whole story was created to fit Bootnotes' pattern.

[Sarah Bee]

Re: Haines, I'm not the only one who has you...!

Woohoo! It's a conspiracy!

Also, that Kanye West thing was totally a stunt and everyone involved is a brilliant actor.

(Look, the moderatrix is trying to cover for Haines... that CONFIRMS it!)

[Mike Bell]

Someone remind me...

Didn't El Reg itself have a dabble with video clip production many years ago? Some kind of subscription service, as I recall, in the heady days of the internet's infancy. I must admit, it's all a hazy blur now.

[seanj]

Marketing? Who cares?

Seriously, who gives a flying squirrel's left nutsack whether this is viral marketing or not?

It's funny.

Or are you so worried that you're such a mindless slave to marketing that you clearly won't be able to resist the creator's obvious "Jedi mind trick" ability to make you buy whatever they're selling?

Sheesh, some people just like to complain about nothing...

[Chris Collins]

New vidya alert

"Bouncy Helen" has a new response to add to the melange: http://www.youtube.com/user/BouncyHelen

I'm a bit dubious about her being 24 but she has watched 34 videos. Clearly it must be real, just like Skweezy.

[J 3]

Oh, my...

Some commentards are just plain stupid...

Anyway, adding to the choir, the first ones were funnier, this one... Meh.

What is funniest for me is that one of my friends looks quite a bit like "Prince Obi", and speaks in a similar way too! Only he is from Liberia, not Nigeria... I'm probably committing a terrible African faux pas by saying that they sound similar -- maybe like saying that a German and French sound similar when speaking English -- but I care not.

[Arlinora]

hilarious

Yeah it's probably a viral, but it's still hilarious!

[David John Walsh]

Here be my theory......

This has all the marks of a BBC pre-tease campaign..

possibly something to "counter" the Darren Brown thing - which incidentally who the dooby announces a viral campaign?

[Paul 4]

Facebook

Take a look at his facebook page. Apparently he was born on the 25/12. Makes me think there is some christmas link in. Don't know what though.

[Colin Miller]

@Dale Richards

I'd tend to agree with you. All three joined on the 23rd Aug, and Helen was wearing a collar mike in the last film....

[DrewHew]

This guy is...

...fuckin hilarious!!!!

I laughed til my eyes welled up!!

[Steve Roper]

Perspective on viral marketing

The advertising industry is one of the most hated on the planet, and the reason is simple: their job is not merely to promote a product, but to find ways to make you want to buy it. To this end,we all know that there is no depth to which they will not sink - even outright mind control would be acceptable to these morons if it were possible.

With the advent of psychological manipulation such as that made possible first by Alan Pease with his "Body Language" shows in the 80s, and more recently Derren Brown, most of us are increasingly aware of our vulnerability to this kind of manipulation. Noting seanj's comment above, if you think you are immune to marketing "Jedi mind tricks" you are deluding yourself. Unless you have a PhD in psych science, chances are you've purchased at least one product on the strength of manipulative advertising, whether or not you were aware of being manipulated at the time. I myself have become a paranoid advert-hater as a result of this manipulative behaviour of the advertising industry, and even I've been sucked in on a few occasions; I'll freely admit it.

This new wave of viral marketing is just the latest attempt by the advertising industry to invade popular culture and humour and turn it to their own devious ends. This awareness is why so many of the commenters above hate it. It demeans and belittles the value of humour and infects cultural memetics with false memes. Fortunately society has its own antibodies against this disease: a meme becomes "old" or "uncool" the moment the advertising industry gets its grubby mitts on it. Look at what happened to the rickroll, for example - it's dead in the water. And look at how easily the majority of people here have spotted this video series for what it is - a viral marketing attempt, with "Prince Obi" soon to appear on YouTube or even on TV selling something or other - and people will say "Oh, that's that funny guy on YouTube!" and create an association of humour that supposedly will induce them to buy the product.

Yet it'll probably backfire. Would you buy something from someone you had been led to think was a fraudster?

[poobumwilly]

I used to think...

That the El Reg journos were 'cool dudes from tha neighberhooood'; hip, swingin' and down wit' da kids!

Not any more though, no-sir-ree.

Not after your repeated reporting of what is obviously a bunch of drama students trying their hardest to not get a job!

[Anonymous Coward]

Helen is branded in third video

I join with some others in not caring if this is some kind of advertising gimmick, but those that seem to care might like to know that in her third video Helen has exchanged a reference to one "A" word for a reference to another.

[Anonymous Coward]

So what?

Just because something is viral, doesn't mnean it isn't entertaining or funny. Take the meerkat adverts. Garanted they're becomming less funny and a tad predictable but they're still entertaining.