To promote their internet network Fios, Verizon has launched a new campaign focused on the age-old stereotype that when gamers are frustrated by internet lag, they end up destroying their controllers in anger.
Their solution is an ‘unbreakable’ controller, designed for those “without Verizon Fios”, according to the campaign video.
The video in question features Nate Hill, one of gaming YouTube’s biggest stars.
https://youtu.be/uX1zadWJNVs
In the video, the controller is seen being dunked through a basketball hoop, driven over by a car and jumped on by a jackhammer, though a note at the bottom of the video does make it clear that the product is: “for trolling purposes only. Created to handle typical games tantrums, but not literally unbreakable.”
PC Mag has named Verizon Fios the best internet for gamers two years in a row.
According to a press statement by Verizon, the controller was made by partnering with Steven Brower, a product designer at Brower Propulsion Laboratory.
Brower, “created a bespoke video game controller that can withstand the frustrations of laggy gamers. Taking inspiration from the diabolical ironclad beetle, the controller was constructed with a durable, aluminum shell and then surrounded by a soft foam that cushions the shell from impact. Its bright orange color was intentionally chosen to reflect the humorous nature of the product and the childish anger gamers show when they lag out.”
“And at the end of the day, all of this could’ve been avoided if gamers across the country had simply chosen Fios from the get-go. But until then, it’s up to us to remind laggy gamers everywhere… it’s this or Fios.”
