Angel Caught on Surveillance Tape?

Surveillance video appears to show a supernatural appearance by what some claim is a real angel caught on tape. Today we’ll take a closer look at this video.

It’s not real.

This video was released in late 2010 as part of a campaign known as “Fallen Angels” or “Even Angels will Fall” for the men’s cologne Lynx Excite. Lynx is the international brand name for Axe. The campaign has sometimes referred to as the “Axe Fallen Angels.”

The campaign involved sexy angels descending from the heavens, attracted to the scent of the cologne. Several television ads were created, along with an “augmented reality” device placed in London’s Victoria subway station to simulate angels falling around those who stood on a company logo.

Let’s take a look at the “surveillance video” which has been circulated and sometimes passed off as real for several years. The narrator describes the video as “amazing” and asserts that it “took place in Indonesia at the end of 2011.” The video shows what appears to be an angel briefly appearing, followed by security guards who rush to investigate.

The video, however, was not filmed in Indonesia, and was not real. It was produced as part of the Lynx campaign and released on social media.

Below is the popular television ad known as “Even Angels Fall” for Lynx cologne. It depicts angels falling from the sky, seeking out the irresistible scent. Take note how the angels look while landing.

Here is video of the “augmented reality” device placed in a London subway station on March 5, 2011 to promote the “fallen angels” campaign:

If we compare a screen shot of one of the angels landing in the commercial above with the landing of the object in the surveillance video, the “landings” are clearly very similar.

The Huffington Post published an embarrassing attempt at debunking the video back in 2012. In a flimsy piece of investigative journalism, the story reported, “United Press International is reporting this week that the video could be a hoax, basing its findings on YouTube comments.” Because the ad campaign had already existed for over a year before that article was written, there is no excuse for the Huff Post writer to miss the Lynx ad campaign with even a cursory investigation.

Bottom Line

The angel “captured” in this surveillance video is part of the “Fallen Angels” advertising campaign by Lynx/Axe.

Sources

• Angels fall from sky for a whiff of Axe spray (David Kiefaber, Adweek: Feb. 2, 2011)
• Axe Falling Angels: Augmented Reality That Captivates! (Innovapedia: April 26, 2011)

Updated January 4, 2015
Originally published May 2013