In Basel, Switzerland, three people dressed in Pikachu costumes traveled around the city throwing enormous Poké Balls at pedestrians. It’s all part of an ad campaign to promote tourism to the city, and with a hilarious video like this one, something tells me it’s working.
German news website RP Online says Basel Tourism, a travel agency for the Swiss city, joined forces with communications company Fadebout to promote travel to their city via this genius video:
The clip, posted to Basel Tourism’s Facebook page, shows four men dressed in Pikachu garb riding around in the back of a van with enormous bouncy Poké Balls and an oversized slingshot.
Their targets? People staring at their phones, possibly playing Pokémon Go. As the video’s title “The Revenge” suggests, these Pikachus are tired of getting hit by Poké Balls—now they’ve turned the tables.
So far, over 40 million people have watched the Facebook video, which showcases Basel’s beautiful Rhine river (you can see three Pikachus chasing the man across it in the photo above), the shopping district, the soccer stadium, and various other tourist destinations. This is all part of a campaign to use Pokémon Go as a vehicle to get people exploring Basel, and with 40 million viewers, it’s safe to say it’s working.