Only in a land where rugby and soccer matches regularly incite riots could the so-called "happy slapping" craze catch on. But yes folks, The Guardian reports it’s all the rage (rage being the operative force here) among the youth of our mother country. Apparently the laddy-gangs of London get their jollies by surrounding someone, slapping them around and then getting their victims’ reactions on their cellphone cameras and often posting those reactions on the Web. (We tried to link to one of these videos but it seems like the links go down almost as fast as they are posted.) The whole thing is kinda twisted, don’t you think? But what a natural ad tie-in for a phone company! At least The Guardian seems to think so. The online version of their April 26th story on the happy slappers is anchored by a Vonage ad (free calls to the U.S. and Canada!). At the end of the piece is list of "useful links," to Web sites for T-Mobile, Vodafone, British Telecom, Virgin Mobile, Nokia and Ericsson. So if you yearn for the life of a happy slapper, better get a move-on—these fads tend to fade quickly. But not to worry, the companies cited above have all the gear you need to do it right.
—Posted by Steve McClellan
