The Weather Channel Dumps Water On Commuters In Obnoxious Marketing Stunt

To promote its new Android app, The Weather Channel decided to literally make it rain on unsuspecting commuters sitting under the shelter of a bus stop.

The company planted a man, with said app, inside the bus shelter who checked his phone and pulled out an umbrella every time before water flooded down on commuters. It was very sunny outside.

This embraces two recent marketing trends: 1) incorporating bus stops into guerrilla stunts, 2) being complete jerks to potential consumers.

Other bus stop stunts have been more charming: Qualcomm picked people up in a Lamborghini if they interacted with an ad's URL; McCain Foods made bus stops smell like baked potatoes.

But The Weather Channel's move just seems annoying for potential consumers rather than funny.

Although the company isn't alone in the tactic — CBS Films terrified women in a beauty shop as a part of a "Last Exorcism Part II" marketing campaign. Nivea tried to convince people at train stations and airports that they were wanted by the police with the hope that they'd freak out and sweat so much that they'd need the brand's deodorant.

Watch The Weather Channel's stunt below: