Nissan fakes out random riders with spin in Altima "race car"

"Prankvertising" has become the triple-axel jump of marketing, a move that's hard to pull off well, but that pays off with high scores when done correctly. Already this year we've seen Pepsi use Jeff Gordon to terrorize a car blogger into a Coke customer for life to delivery service DHL using temperature-sensitive wrap to trick UPS into advertising for it. The latest leap comes from Nissan, which recruited people off the street to show how fast an everyday Altima sedan can feel.

For its "Ride of Your Life" campaign, a group of random participants were shuttled to Willow Springs Raceway in California and told they'd be given hot laps in an Altima race car. After a few rounds at speed, in five-point harnesses with professional drivers at the wheel, the marks were let out — and the mechanics turned loose on the Altimas' purely cosmetic enhancements: