T-Mobile Organizes “Spontaneous” Flash Mob Dance In Train Station, Is Trying Way Too Hard

T-Mobile phone company is the latest fool to jump on the Flash-Mob-as-viral-marketing bandwagon, as they orchestrated a “spontaneous” choreographed dance sequence yesterday at London’s Liverpool train station.

A flash mob, for those of you not up on your Youtube/Facebook/Artistic Jerkoff lingo, is when a mass of regular people plan something unusual or slightly rebellious, show up at a specific time and place to do it and then disperse quickly afterwards. Famous examples include the time a huge crowd of people stood “frozen” for several long minutes in a Paris park and a previous, pre-arranged silent dance party at the same Liverpool station.

T-Mobile’s version was a bit different:

400 strangers - including tourists and Underground staff - suddenly leaped into action, busting out a co-ordinated mix of hip-hop, disco and ballroom moves right in the middle of the London station.

Synchronized dance numbers are old news (we’re looking at you, Phillipine prison inmates) but they’re becoming increasingly popular for ad campaigns. Apple’s use of Feist’s video for the song “1, 2, 3, 4″ is one of the more famous examples. The video has the feel of a flash mob, as her dancers pour in and then burst into dance in perfect, seemingly carefree synchronization. The song achieved enormous and instant popularity, but it’s a little hard to enjoy when you know that the joy of the music is just honey to help force the product down your throat.

A T-Mobile spokeswoman tried and failed to make their flash mob seem less pathetically commerical by asserting that dancing “brings to life the fact that there are often unexpected, wonderful, exciting things that happen that you want to be able to share.”

Wonderful, exciting things like a huge crowd of jazz-hand making asshats blocking your morning commute.

Hidden cameras recorded the performance and the full clip will be shown tomorrow on British TV’s Channel 4, and on Youtube. In the meantime we’ll be “flash mobbing” our roommate with the choreography to Missy Elliot’s “Lose Control,” because who needs self-respect?

Dance Of The Commuters: 400-strong ‘flash mob’ gets funky at Liverpool Street Station [Daily Mail]