Category:

Koi UFO Video 099 : UFO at Baseball Game (Vancouver, 2013) 

[DEBUNKED] Koi UFO Video 099 appears to show a floodlit baseball game, during which a UFO with several lights is seen in the distance.

One copy of this video on Youtube, with the title "UFO at Baseball Game" and a caption stating "Video caught UFO at Nat Bailey stadium in Vancouver. September 3rd, 2013" had approximately 400,000 views as at July 2015. (The total number of YouTube views has been estimated as over 2.3 million).

In fact, as discussed below, the "UFO" was a drone in the shape of the H R MacMillan Space Centre in Vancouver, Canada. The Space Centre subsequently issued a press release admitting that the sightings were caused by "an elaborate hoax" created by the Space Centre working with Vancouver ad agency MacLaren McCann as an "extreme teaser campaign" for a "new planetarium viewer experience" at H R MacMillan Space Centre.  The advertising agency gave details of their hoax on their website, including footage of the drone and details of the (considerable) success of their advertising campaign.

 

 

 

Sections below:

1. The relevant video

2. Stories and claims relating to this video

3. The real background to this video

4. Relevant online discussions

 

 

1. The relevant video

This video appears to show a floodlit baseball game, during which a UFO with several lights is seen in the distance.

Screen shots from this video are included below for ease of identification.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    

2. Stories and claims relating to this video

One copy of this video on Youtube, with the title "UFO at Baseball Game" and a caption stating "Video caught UFO at Nat Bailey stadium in Vancouver. September 3rd, 2013" 

 

 

3. The real background to this video

In fact, this video showed a drone in the shape of the H R MacMillan Space Centre in Vancouver, Canada. The Space Centre subsequently issued a press release admitting that the sightings were caused by "an elaborate hoax" created by the Space Centre working with Vancouver ad agency MacLaren McCann as an "extreme teaser campaign" for a "new planetarium viewer experience" at H R MacMillan Space Centre. 

The relevant press release issued by H R MacMillan Space Centre is embedded below for ease of reference:

 

 The advertising agency mentioned in the Space Centre's press release, i.e. MacLaren McCann, has a website which gives details of the hoax.  Its website states that "The Planetarium looks like your classic UFO so we engineered a custom, remote-controlled drone modelled after it". It states this drone was "then used to perpetrate a world-class hoax as it made several well-timed appearances across Vancouver’s night sky".

The advertising agency was clearly pleased with the results of its work.  It states that "virtually every local news source covered both the deception and the ultimate reveal while several national publications also ran headline features".  It estimates that globally the "earned media is estimated at over $3 million" and included "promotion in the Huffington Post, Daily Mailand national US television programs Good Morning America, and Fox and Friends". They estimate collective YouTube views of the UFO sightings "reached 2.3+ million" and "garnered 13.9+ million social media and 12.4 million traditional media impressions".

The advertising agency concluded "most importantly, the Planetarium enjoyed a 50% increase in attendance YOY [Year On Year]".

The advertising agency's website includes a video giving a taste of the television news coverage and the image of the drone in flight.  That video states that "for only $13,000 in hard costs" they created "$3 million in earned media".

 

 

 

 

 

4. Relevant online discussions

Relevant discussions on the AboveTopSecret.com forum include the following:

2013 (September) discussion entitled "Two videos of the same Object in Canada, Vancouver"

2013 (September) discussion entitled "Mass Sighting of UFO During Minor League Game"