Selfies are a risky proposition.
Just ask Samsung’s altitude balloon made by Raven Industries which the South Korean conglomerate commissioned to tote a Cara Delevigne selfie into space..only for it to become a falling star moments before crashing into the farmland outside Nancy Mumby-Welke’s house in Gratiot County, Michigan.
Mumby-Welke said that she thought a satellite had fallen into a field and that explaining what had happened was difficult and baffled local authorities. Upon closer inspection, the Samsung corporate markings and other identifiable information became clearer.
Samsung said of the crash, “No injuries occurred and the balloon was subsequently retrieved…We regret any inconvenience this may have caused.” The Verge notes that Samsung says the crash landing was planned and targeted a wide-open area. As for the broader program, the whole “SpaceSelfie” thing is a PR stunt by the company to bring attention to its Galaxy S10 smartphones.
The conceit was that the selfie of Cara Delevigne would be “the world’s first selfie sent into space” according to the tech website.
Samsung Europe CMO Benjamin Braun said of the SpaceSelfie program, “Our relentless pioneering spirit continues to show that amazing things happen on Samsung screens – even from the stratosphere. …Our ethos is Do What You Can’t and the Samsung SpaceSelfie is just that. We continually break the boundaries of what is possible with innovation and tonight’s SpaceSelfie launch is no different.”
What do you think? Is the SpaceSelfie a clever PR stunt or another obnoxious example of the trend gone awry? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
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