Spain: The “Formigal Yeti” – A Hoax by an Alicante Brand
*It was a viral merchandising campaign in collusion with the ski resort*
Rivers of ink (of the digital kind, particularly) have flowed both in Spain and many countries all over the world. But the now famous images of the alleged “yeti” of the Formigal Station, as this newspaper said today at noon, are nothing more than a hoax by a well-known brand from Alicante that makes sunglasses, and has an active promotional arrangement with the aforementioned ski resort and one of its models. At 22:00 hours tonight, the company unveiled a video on its website and on YouTube.
The strange sighting of an alleged Yeti at the Formigal Station leaped into social media last week. “This morning, while skiing Formigal with my buddies, we came across this,” said a user in ForoCoches, one of Spain’s largest online forums. “We have notified the station, but they didn’t take us seriously,” they added. A recording published on YouTube barely three seconds later showed the bizarre figure. The referenced video was withdrawn from You Tube by being “in violation of its policy on spam, deceitful practices and fraud.”
The image shows something looking like a white bear walking among the trees. It was nothing more than a skier clothed entirely in white. The fact is that after all the confusion, another video made the rounds of YouTube yesterday; showing several workers at Formigal carrying what appeared to be a cadaver before the eyes of startled skiers.
The enigma is resolved. This is a successful promotional campaign orchestrated by the aforementioned eyewear manufacturer, in collusion with the ski resort in Aragón.
Videos can be seen on the original website: http://www.diarioinformacion.com/buzzeando/2016/02/10/marca-comercial-alicantina-yeti-formigal/1726233.html
[Translation (c) 2016 S. Corrales, IHU with thanks to Guillermo Gimenez, Dave Koper and Manuel Carballal]