Bus passengers were deeply puzzled, and occasionally outraged on Friday, when political performance pranksters " the weather girls" carried out an elaborate hoax targeted at Bristols most disliked corporation the First bus group.
Dressed in the recognizable pink and blue livery of the company, complete with bogus branded name badges several dozen fake FIRST representatives travelled on bus routes throughout Bristol claiming to promote a new PR campaign which promised to relieve the burden of the 40% fare rise by providing "100% entertainment".
SInging songs, cheer leading, and teaching on board pilates and self defence classes the "representatives" claimed to be part of "First F.R.E.E bus", F.R.E.E standing for First Representatives Entertainment Extravaganza. The idea of the phony campaign was to reveal the injustice of fare hikes and the absurdity of the privitization of public services, which puts profits first.
The elaborate deception included a slick corporate web site (www.firstfreebus.co.uk), glossy leaflets and press releases that were sent from an email address that looked as if it had been sent from the first group.
Local radio stations, duped by the group carried early morning reports of the campaign, as if it had been promoted by FIRST itself.
A genuine FIRST employee, who asked to remain anonymous, thought that pranksters had somehow "hacked into FIRST'S media communications system, the graphic design, logos and costumes were so realistic"
16 year old Abbie and Rosa who came to the spoof "launch" of the campaign's slick promotional film, held in the canon's Marsh amphitheatre on friday night, said " I was given a leaflet by one of the FREE reps, who at the time i thought were real, and told to come down to the launch party. I brought 40 eggs to the event to throw at the company directors who have destroyed our local bus services and who i thought were there. You can imagine my suprise when i realised that the whole thing was actuall a incredibly creative form of protest against FIrst."
Spokeswoman for "The weather girls", said , "this was the first of a series of radical hoaxes that we are planning to carry out against corporate greed and arrogance."
To see the images and the film of the days actions go to : www.firstfreebus.co.uk
SInging songs, cheer leading, and teaching on board pilates and self defence classes the "representatives" claimed to be part of "First F.R.E.E bus", F.R.E.E standing for First Representatives Entertainment Extravaganza. The idea of the phony campaign was to reveal the injustice of fare hikes and the absurdity of the privitization of public services, which puts profits first.
The elaborate deception included a slick corporate web site (www.firstfreebus.co.uk), glossy leaflets and press releases that were sent from an email address that looked as if it had been sent from the first group.
Local radio stations, duped by the group carried early morning reports of the campaign, as if it had been promoted by FIRST itself.
A genuine FIRST employee, who asked to remain anonymous, thought that pranksters had somehow "hacked into FIRST'S media communications system, the graphic design, logos and costumes were so realistic"
16 year old Abbie and Rosa who came to the spoof "launch" of the campaign's slick promotional film, held in the canon's Marsh amphitheatre on friday night, said " I was given a leaflet by one of the FREE reps, who at the time i thought were real, and told to come down to the launch party. I brought 40 eggs to the event to throw at the company directors who have destroyed our local bus services and who i thought were there. You can imagine my suprise when i realised that the whole thing was actuall a incredibly creative form of protest against FIrst."
Spokeswoman for "The weather girls", said , "this was the first of a series of radical hoaxes that we are planning to carry out against corporate greed and arrogance."
To see the images and the film of the days actions go to : www.firstfreebus.co.uk
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