Koi UFO Video 005: Blair Witch style forest encounter (Toyota)

 

[DEBUNKED] Koi UFO Video 005 is shaky footage appearing to show several young people in a forest encountering some UFOs.

This Blair Witch style "UFO" video was discussed on several UFO forums in 2006, with comments such as "oh my god i was freaking out when i saw this. all their emotions sound so real!!!!". 

In fact, as discussed below, this video was part of a viral advertising campaign for Toyota (specifically for the launch of the new Toyota Camry). It formed part of a series of videos that made the link to Toyota increasingly obvious (with one video including supposed alien markings that look like Toyota's logo) with the final videos featuring the new Toyota Camry itself.  These videos, and a related (fake) news website, were the first viral advertising campaign by Toyota and involved work by Great Urban Myth (an Australian creative advertising consultancy).

I find this an interesting case study in relation to the role of time in investigating UFO videos.  While one person ("ArMaP" of AboveTopSecret.com) was able to discover in 2006 that this video was linked to Toyota, that required a bit of detective work on his part and (until the later videos emerged) was not entirely conclusive.  In 2015, however, it is possible to simply read the story behind this video on the website of one of the advertising agencies involved. Many ufologists are aware that, in relation to the investigation of genuine UFO sightings, time is often of the essence - with memories and fading (or becoming contaminated) with the passage of time and physical "trace" evidence becoming increasingly meaningless. However, in relation to videos that are hoaxed or created as part of an advertising campaign, the passage of time can actually be surprisingly HELPFUL since those involved tend to become more willing to talk about matters or include relevant details on their own websites, e.g. advertising agencies using such videos to showcase their talents or actresses including the relevant project on their resume. 

 

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

Koi UFO Video 005 is shaky footage appearing to show several young people in a forest encountering some UFOs.

The UFOs appear to be large balls of light, that make a whooshing noise as they pass the camera.

Screen shots from the video are included below for ease of identification:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

2. Stories and claims relating to this video

This Blair Witch style "UFO" video was discussed on several UFO forums in 2006, with comments such as "oh my god i was freaking out when i saw this. all their emotions sound so real!!!!".

A (fake) news website for "WBC News" (referred to below) reported that "On July 19, 2006, Daniel Whyte, a nineteen year old NSW resident, posted a video on a popular youth internet site, myspace. The video footage features four teenagers in a remote area, and captures a dsiplay of moving lights" and that "Locals in the remote area have come forward in support of the video, claiming that this is not the first time the lights or markings have been seen". Local Police and Australian Government Scientists were said by "WBC News" to have "quarantined the area for investigation".

 

 

3. The real background to this video

This video was part of a viral advertising campaign for Toyota (specifically for the launch of the new Toyota Camry).

The video formed an early part of a series of videos that made the link to Toyota increasingly obvious, with one video including supposed alien markings that looked like Toyota's logo and the final videos featuring the new Toyota Camry itself.  A few screen shots from those later videos are shown below:

 

 

 

These videos, and a related (fake) news website, were the first viral advertising campaign by Toyota and involved work by Great Urban Myth (an Australian creative advertising consultancy).

Great Urban Myth's website includes an informative and entertaining webpage giving considerable detail of this viral marketing campaign and the relevant videos to showcase the talents of that company and its Creative Director, Adrian Hayward.  That webpage includes the following summary:

"We were approached by Hothouse Interactive to work with them on a viral campaign to launch the new Toyota Camry. It was the first time Toyota had attempted such a campaign.  We conceived the idea of a sensationalist American news network, running a story about an alien landing in outback Australia which coincided with - and becomes about - the run up to the launch of the new car. As well as this series of ‘News Reports’ we created an entire website for WBC News, where our campaign appeared amongst genuine news stories on RSS feeds. Great Urban Myth wrote and produced 12 episodes, which culminate with the real news story at the heart of our campaign - the launch of the new Toyota Camry".

 

 

According to Great Urban Myth's website,  its Creative Director (Adrian Hayward, pictured below) has been making TV commercials in Australasia and around the world for 25 years (including campaigns for several major brands, such as McDonalds, Volkswagen and British Airways).

 The related (fake) news website for "WBC News" included a webpage on its "reporters",  including Ted Maynard (said to be "the anchor of WBC News' "Today Early," and he also serves as a daytime anchor for WBC Live").  In fact, Ted Maynard is an actor with an entry on the IMDB website:

 

That webpage also listed other "reporters" and "anchors", including Brenda Hamilton, Liam Frost and Roger Marshall. I'll leave finding their IMDB entries as an exercise for their readers.

 

 

 

 

4. Relevant online discussions

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

2006 (August) discussion entitled "Stunning close up video of multiple ufos!!!"

2006 (August) discussion entitled "Could this astonishing Australian UFO video reveal how crop circles are constructed?"

Notably, long before the webpage of the Great Urban Myth advertising agency made everything clear, way back in 2006 a member of the AboveTopSecret.com ("ATS") forums with the username "ArMaP" posted the results of some ingenuous detective work and his conclusion that this was a Toyota advertisement.  

 

This video was also discussed on the GodLikeProductions.com discussion forum in a discussion in 2006.

 

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