It was started by a small group of cheeky pranksters who wanted to have some fun with the automatic recommendations that Amazon gives to other users. And now it seems to have become something of a cult craze.
The current must-have item being reviewed by crazed consumers who just can’t seem to get enough? It’s a 500ml bottle of Barrettine Methylated Spirits.
A look at the tags that customers associate with this product will give you an idea of what you’re in for but honestly? The more you read, the more you’ll laugh.
“Are you sick of the mundane quiet comfortable middle-class family life? Do you have two well-educated spotless kids called Toby and Jocasta and a dog named Henry?” asks one reviewer.
“Wipe the slate clean with a healthy dose of Barettine Methylated Spirit. 100% guaranteed to secure you a life of fun, chasing pigeons around car parks, swearing incoherently at strangers and not worrying about urinating in ones pants in public.
“Thick, grey, matted hair will now grow on what was once a shiny balding dome and the narrow, pale, majestic nose will flourish and spread like red broccoli,” the review continues.
The reviews get more outrageous and crazy from there on with some users likening it to a fine wine and others stating that drinking Methylated Spirits did actually change their life for the better.
But why is this product getting so much attention? Well it’s all down to people wanting to screw up Amazon.com’s recommendations for other users.
Apparently if a product is doing super-well in terms of reviews and popularity, it will then automatically appear as a recommendation to any user who searches for items with the same product tags.
So for example, if you search for a product that falls under the “brown paper bag” or “sexy” tags, there’s a strong chance that Amazon will recommend you a nice bottle of Barrettine Methylated Spirits to complement your recent purchase.
It’s crazy, but you have to admit – it’s also really, really hilarious!
