A narrator tells viewers: “Scientists believe this dance is used to warn others that critical thinking has left the area.”
The video shows a group of people arriving at a Waikato service station in the early hours of the morning trying to damage the site. Photo / Waitomo Group
The commentary grows increasingly cutting as the group’s actions unfold. One person tries to pull a petrol hose off the pump but fails.
“At this point, even the hose knows it has the intellectual advantage,” the narrator says.
The video ends with the line: “Congratulations, you are this week’s d***head of the week”.
One of the people in the video seemingly smells a fuel hose. Photo / Waitomo Group
Waitomo said the campaign was designed to draw attention to behaviour that creates costs and disruption for the company and its customers.
“We do what we can to keep prices as low as possible, but people just are d***s sometimes,” a spokesperson told the Herald.
“Those guys rocked up about 1am and they just took it upon themselves to try and just cause carnage and destroy the site.”
The spokesperson said vandalism and damage at the company’s more than 100 unmanned fuel sites added to operating costs.
“Things like that ultimately just pull the price of fuel up because those are just overheads.”
Security camera footage shows the driver of the black ute stalling the vehicle as they depart. Photo / Waitomo Group
Waitomo said the series reflects its unconventional approach to marketing.
“We don’t like to talk in a corporate way and we like to be quite left field from what everyone else does.”
The spokesperson said the company wanted to highlight people “causing a nuisance not only for Waitomo but for everyone else” while creating content that resonates online.
“We also used it for brand building because at the end of the day we know these videos resonate a lot on social media.”
Part of the appeal, the company says, is the narration itself.
“The dialogue is half the reason people watch it as well because it’s very Kiwi, it’s very funny, it’s blunt,” the spokesperson said.
“It’s a little bit roasting, kind of like what Police Ten 7 used to be like back in the day.”