Shopping for electronics at Best Buy already feels like some kind of hidden camera prank, with staff who never want to help and rarely know a thing about the gear they're selling. But an artist who refers to himself as Plastic Jesus—which apparently is not a gag—took things one step further by secretly stocking Best Buy displays in LA with a useless plastic box complete with a description of the non-existent product.
A closer look at the convincing fact sheet—that included points like "Another gadget you don't really need" and "New model out in 4 weeks"—revealed the mysterious black box was indeed a fake, but presumably Best Buy was probably still happy to sell it.
The stunt was of course a commentary on consumerism and our endless drive to stock our homes with countless black boxes that rarely deliver as promised, and to encourage people to think twice about running out to buy what's claimed to be the latest and greatest devices. But clearly Plastic Jesus has not heard of the next iPhone's rumored colorful case options, has he? Where do we line up? [Plastic Jesus via Cnet via Yahoo! News]
Update: Best Buy has reached out to us with a statement/promotional opportunity regarding this incident:
A few stores were affected and the boxes were removed immediately. We are also flattered that Best Buy is so top of mind for Mr. Plastic Jesus, and are happy that he presumably had the opportunity to witness our expert Blue Shirts and Geek Squad members in action during his visits. Hopefully he also had the chance to check out our fabulous back to school deals.