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UpperCup: A coffee-drinking iPhone owner’s pipe dream

Alleged product pitch looks too loony to be true, but we’ll play along

By Paul McNamara on Fri, 01/25/13 - 11:40am.

Cup holders can come in handy. Same for iPhone cases, if you own an iPhone. So, it only makes sense that someone would design a combination cup holder and iPhone case for use while texting.

Of course, it makes absolutely no sense at all that anyone would actually build or buy such a contraption, so what we have here is almost certainly a publicity stunt of some kind. You can see why at a glance.

holder

But there is an amusing video   ... and the jingle at the end is genuinely funny.

The company behind this alleged venture is a Dutch marketing firm called Natwerk  -- did I mention they're a marketing firm? - which is apparently soliciting funds for the "project" on Indiegogo.

(They said the iPhone would flop.)

I've sent the marketing firm an email with these three questions:

  • Is this a joke?
  • Is this a publicity stunt?
  • Are you telling me the truth?

Can't be too careful with the fact-checking these days.

(Update: Late afternoon and no reply yet. You don't think it could have anything to do with the tone of my questions, do you.)

(Update, Jan. 27: Natwerk admits it's "a joke." Translation: It's a publicity stunt.)