It’s juvenile, it’s vulgar, it’s a 13-year-old prankster’s dream come true. Except this wasn’t the result of a teenager being bored on a Sunday night, it was the genius of an English visual projection company using a regular equipment test run to earn a bit of local publicity.
Under the cover of darkness, Alexander Beswick of Empire AV Works rolled up on an empty carpark, set up his nefarious laser device, and lit up the town with a 50ft tall electric blue phallus.
It may have been just a few short moments for Derby, but it’s led to a solid 15 minutes of fame for the laser’s owner – and thankfully no legal action (yet) on the part of the innocent victim in all this, the Jury’s Inn hotel.
The coverage in the local newspaper failed to eke out any kind of explanation from Beswick other than a reiteration of the need to do a test run of a mobile, 12-volt alternative power supply for his custom-made laser light projections. Clearly, there was a viral marketing strategy involved here. Or maybe it’s all just a dude’s childish sense of humour.
Apparently the laser was perfectly safe but I don’t know if Beswick can say that there was no danger to the general public. The graphic imagery could’ve given some little elderly lady heart failure, for goodness’ sake. At least it was temporary – lads with spray paint don’t share that level of courtesy.
Men just can’t stop pulling stunts that involve crude illustrations of penises, can they? You might recall that one time that the US Navy drew one in the sky using an EA-18G Growler jet, prompting a full on probe (not a pun). Or this pilot who used his flight path like an Etch-A-Sketch, for a more subtle touch. Even beauty brands are shoving dicks in where they don’t belong.
I don’t mean to be that person, but are genitals really that funny? C’mon folks, it’s not like you see ladies scrawling vulvas on bathroom doors wherever they go. Can we all agree to grow up and get a bit more creative with our humorous imagery? I’m personally a big fan of the good old typo.