Team Detroit teamed up with production company The Work to troll some unsuspecting guys with this prankvertising stunt for Ford Mustang, setting them up on a date with professional stunt driver Prestin Persson.
After leaving a restaurant with each of the guys and getting into her Mustang, Persson plays the ditz, pretending to not really know how to drive a stick shift. One guy even suggests he can show her what the car can really do. In fact, most of the guys engage in some pretty cringe-worthy bragging before Persson flips into stunt driver mode and the guys alternately hold on for dear life or shout in excitement. At the end of the spot, Persson reveals her identity and that the men were in fact, filmed for a Mustang commercial.
If you’re tired of prankvertising, “Speed Dating” isn’t going to do anything to change your mind, although it does offer something at least a little bit different within the format. Persson plays her part well, convincingly seeming to struggle with the vehicle one minute and then — as one gentleman put it — whipping the shit out of the car with a grin on her face. “I guess you’re showing me how to drive this thing, aren’t you?” the guy from earlier admits. It’s pretty satisfying to see Persson make him eat crow (and humble a few of the other guys as well), but the spot, which clocks in at over three minutes, could have used some tighter editing.