Record-Breaking Megawoosh Waterslide Jump-Fiction!
Summary of eRumor:
A video shows a man wearing an “almost frictionless” neoprene suit go down his homemade “Megawoosh” waterslide and vault more than a hundred feet into a shallow pool.
The Truth:
This video is a hoax that was created by Microsoft Germany as a marketing ploy to promote Microsoft Office 2007.
MRM Germany CEO Alexander Ewig told gigaom.com that Microsoft hired his company to orchestrate the viral marketing campaign.
The video’s star, a German engineer named Bruno Kammerl, claimed on his personal website that he had developed a “Softslide” material that could be used to create the world’s most exciting waterslide.
Kammerl’s video of the “Megawoosh” waterslide jump was then posted on a mock website to allegedly help attract investors.
Microsoft’s logos and various advertisements for the company’s software now appear on both websites.
Posted 04/04/14