--- description: Social marketing schemes will break your heart title: 7 Incredible Viral Moments That Turned Out to Be Marketing Stunts image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt09e0ff9382f7f43d/69876444a988caed356aa371/130883718.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # 7 Incredible Viral Moments That Turned Out to Be Marketing Stunts by [Laura Stampler](/author/laura-stampler/) ## Laura Stampler Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 5, 2014 6:29 PM CUT  Businessman sitting in front of his laptop, angry Businessman sitting in front of his laptop, angryGetty Images by [Laura Stampler](/author/laura-stampler/) ## Laura Stampler Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 5, 2014 6:29 PM CUT There have been a lot of questions about whether or not overnight Internet darling ‘[Alex from Target](http://time.com/3554572/alex-from-target/ "undefined")‘ is a real viral sensation or a just a marketing ploy. Here are 7 other viral sensations that broke our hearts when we found out they weren’t real: **Dumb Starbucks** > [](https://twitter.com/dumbstarbucks/status/431926335905095680) In February, a “Dumb Starbucks” opened its doors in Los Angeles. Not only did the Internet freak out, but people actually got out from behind their computers to line up around the block to order Dumb Espressos and buy [Dumb Norah Jones CDs.](http://instagram.com/p/kNO%5FLkDe18/ "undefined") Then it turned out to be part of a [Comedy Central show hosted by comedian Nathan Fielder.](http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Dumb-Starbucks-Nathan-Fielder-Los-Feliz-Comedy-Central-244804431.html "undefined") Womp womp. **Bar for Pregnant Women** > [](https://twitter.com/mhayoun/status/524587128462667776) The Internet was horrified when pictures of Gestations, the self-proclaimed “first bar for pregnant women,” began making the rounds on Twitter. “It may just be a tasteless advertising gimmick,” the [New York _Post_ ](http://nypost.com/2014/09/27/the-self-proclaimed-first-bar-for-pregnant-women-is-here/ "undefined")[wrote.](http://nypost.com/2014/09/27/the-self-proclaimed-first-bar-for-pregnant-women-is-here/ "undefined") And it was. Gestations, soon replaced by Blackbox bar for on-duty pilots, was just a way for an app called [Bartendr](http://ny.eater.com/2014/10/3/6904785/marketing-geniuses-behind-bar-for-pregnant-women-now-advertising-bar "undefined") to drum up publicity. **Worst Twerk Fail** A YouTube video showing a girl catching on fire after attempting to twerk upside down racked up [9 million views in just six days.](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/style-blog/wp/2013/09/10/watch-jimmy-kimmel-reveals-twerk-epic-fail-video-was-actually-epic-hoax/ "undefined") It was featured on _The View_ and _The Today Show_. And then Jimmy Kimmel revealed it was all a stunt for his show, and the woman was a literal stunt woman. **Hoverboard was a lie** In March, people were convinced that hoverboards were about to become a reality. And then [Funny or Die](http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/mar/4/back-future-huvrtech-marketing-video-goes-viral-ho/ "undefined") released a statement declaring that the ad was fake. “Sadly, we were lying,” the liars explained. **20 Strangers Kissing** A [beautiful, seemingly sincere video](http://time.com/19693/20-strangers-were-asked-to-kiss-for-the-first-time-and-it-was-strangely-beautiful/ "undefined") showing strangers — gay and straight, young and — meeting and then kissing garnered 42 million YouTube views in four days. And then the world found out that it was actually an ad for a [clothing company](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/14/business/media/a-kiss-is-just-a-kiss-unless-its-an-ad-for-a-clothing-company.html "undefined"). Love isn’t real. Trust no one. **Evan Longoria’s Bare Hand Catch** Baseball player Evan Longoria [_saved a reporter’s life_](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/13/evan-longoria-catch-video%5Fn%5F861824.html "undefined") by catching a ball speeding towards her head with his bare hand. Except he didn’t because it was a stunt for Gillette. **Ellen’s Celebrity Selfie at the Oscars** > [](https://twitter.com/TheEllenShow/status/440322224407314432) If you put the world’s most famous actors together in a picture, it’s hardly surprising that it will [become the most retweeted selfie ever.](http://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/mar/07/oscars-selfie-most-retweeted-ever "undefined") But was Ellen’s “spontaneous” Oscars moment really that spontaneous? Or was it an ad for event sponsor Samsung? Ish. Samsung spent an [estimated $20 million on the show](http://adage.com/article/media/ellen-degeneres-samsung-selfie-ups-social-marketing-game/291989/ "undefined"), and marketing chief Todd Pendleton told [_Adweek_](http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/samsung-tells-story-behind-selfie-ate-hollywood-and-twitter-156385 "undefined") that it planned to have Ellen take a selfie with Meryl Streep using a Samsung smartphone. Ellen may have upped the stakes, but it was, essentially, an ad. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3558488/alex-from-target-fake-viral-marketing-stunts/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3558488/alex-from-target-fake-viral-marketing-stunts/"},"headline":"7 Incredible Viral Moments That Turned Out to Be Marketing Stunts","datePublished":"2014-11-05T18:29:08.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:14:23.205Z","description":"Social marketing schemes will break your heart","url":"https://time.com/3558488/alex-from-target-fake-viral-marketing-stunts/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Internet","marketing","hoax"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt09e0ff9382f7f43d/69876444a988caed356aa371/130883718.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Laura Stampler","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/laura-stampler/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt09e0ff9382f7f43d/69876444a988caed356aa371/130883718.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"130883718","caption":"130883718","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3558488/alex-from-target-fake-viral-marketing-stunts/","name":"7 Incredible Viral Moments That Turned Out to Be Marketing Stunts"}}]}] ```