People will do weird things for free stuff. People will also do weird things on public streaming platforms. And sometimes they’ll do both, such as voluntarily kissing a car for hours on end, in hopes of winning it, on Facebook Live.
That’s the premise of a contest currently being held in Austin, TX that will end with one dedicated individual winning a brand-new Kia Optima. As you can see in the live stream above, it looks like a cross between a New Yorker cartoon about capitalism and a Doctor Who episode where an alien race psychically forces all humans to glue their lips to the last object they touched, or something.
Car-snogging contests aren’t new. Today’s contestants may want to note, in fact, that winners in previous contests have had to kiss the car for 50 hours. Thanks to Facebook Live, all of us are now able to gaze in horror as 20 people rest their dry lips on the cold metal, their eyes dead, The Chainsmokers blaring.
It’s best if you try not to think about these people’s inner lives while you watch.
“Are you guys excited?!” asked a chipper radio host emceeing the event. No noise greeted her. “You can still make noise with your lips on the car,” she cajoled them. That’s right. You’re going to kiss the car and you’re going to like it.