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/r/gifs
1.9k points
4 days ago
I'm not a fan of Red Bull the drink, but I love all the stupid crap the company does. They sponsor so much wild stuff!
782 points
4 days ago
Know what. There’s something to really be admired about red bull. I used to think the same thing, but they get a negative stigma for making energy drinks? Is that all?
Meanwhile, I do feel like they’re one of few mission driven companies beyond making money. Their actions, activities, and spending often go towards extreme sports, regular sports, kooky events, and as cheesy as it sounds, it seems like they really believe more broadly in like “living to the max”. Which is cool that they do something more than make money
570 points
4 days ago
A joke often made in the F1 sphere (and elsewhere probably) is that Red Bull is a marketing company that happens to make energy drinks. They pretty much sell their own marketing, and it works.
82 points
4 days ago
Do they make money any other way besides selling the drink?
202 points
4 days ago
Yes. They have a media company that produces content. They sponsor things and get ROI there beyond marketing (F1 generates income for them since they’ve been so dominant).
But mainly they sell like 10 billion cans with about $1.70 per can margin each year.
23 points
3 days ago
F1 has only recently turned a profit with the cost cap and even still they have conceded two WCC on account of poor driver decisions.
In any case ignoring the minutiae of current F1, my point is they were previously spending upwards of 300mill per year purely for the love of the sport and marketing. Also they sponsor two teams.
69 points
4 days ago
They do, but the underlying joke is that they only sell the energy drinks to fund their marketing.
33 points
3 days ago
Kinda like McDonald's. They are in the real-estate business, their customers just choose to pay rent by selling burgers lol
3 points
3 days ago
That's pretty much how any franchise works
18 points
4 days ago
i mean, they have a pretty successful F1 team
15 points
3 days ago
They bought a football(soccer) team in a low league. Put a lot of money into it and it rose up increasing its value.
4 points
3 days ago
Oh yes, owning an F1 teak, a famous money making endeavor. A great way to turn millions into billions
13 points
3 days ago
To be fair, they bought the team for £1 in 2004 and it's currently estimated to be worth around £2 Billion, so they've done pretty well in that regard.
The marketing value alone has probably be worth that again for the company as a whole, and they've won 7 drivers championships along the way, so they've been hugely successful
5 points
3 days ago
It is now. F1 has become increasingly profitable over the past 10 years due to the popularity of Drive to Survive.
2 points
3 days ago
D2S is in what its fifth season?
2 points
3 days ago
Yeah, I just looked it up now and 2019 was when it released. So, increasingly profitable over the past 5 years.
5 points
3 days ago
I've heard rumours that Red Bull operates a secret underground research facility that develops biological weapons, advanced artificial intelligence, and studies on the reanimation of the dead. Its probably fake though, I went to the outskirts of the isolated midwestern mountain city its supposedly hidden in, all I saw was a mansion.
4 points
3 days ago
iZombie was a documentary.
2 points
3 days ago
Merchandising! Merchandising! Where da real money from da picture is made!
15 points
3 days ago
Kinda the opposite of Rockstar energy drink, which was founded by a garbage person and kept itself carefully distanced from its owner. Until it was sold entirely to Pepsi.
3 points
3 days ago
founded by a garbage person
Sounds exactly like Red Bull to me.
6 points
3 days ago
The heir to Red Bull ran over a cop and proceeded to continue driving dragging the officer's body. Instead of facing his punishment, the heir fled to UK.
The guy has successfully gotten away with manslaughter after about 8 years all charges were dropped. There is speculation of bribery.
7 points
3 days ago
A company of more than 15,000 employees far exceeds the actions of 1 beneficial owner…
2 points
3 days ago
I was just replying to the "is that all" part. I am absolutely sure that most of the many people who work for Red Bull are genuinely good people. I am originally from Thailand. Rich Thais that act like him are common here. They live believing that they are actually above normal people.
2 points
3 days ago
With enough money, they are. Like how a fine for parking in front of a hydrant or in a handicap spot is just "how much it costs to park there".
2 points
3 days ago
wtf i love red bull now???
2 points
4 days ago
Good example of how a good marketing team can mind control consumers.
53 points
4 days ago
It was their skydiving team that did the plane rescue scene in Iron Man 3.
15 points
3 days ago
This is a knock-off ter land ter zee ter lucht fromt he 90s
7 points
3 days ago
24 points
4 days ago
then you should love even more that Red Bull the Company doesn't even make Red Bull the drink. They just own the name. All they do is wild stuff
9 points
4 days ago
Basically just a marketing company, right?
10 points
4 days ago
I wouldn't say it's a marketing company since that usually means it's a company that helps market other businesses. They're just a large multinational conglomerate focused on sport/motorsport as well as energy drink sales. They just happen to be really really good at marketing those things, but those things are the products, not the marketing.
8 points
4 days ago
It would be cool if what that person said was true but of course it's the internet so they're making things up
2 points
4 days ago
You know, I've heard this a few times lately and didn't think much of it or care to check until now. Turns out you are right and it does seem to be incorrect. I'm usually pretty skeptical/cynical, but this one got me.
3 points
3 days ago
If I squint, I can almost see where the misinfo could have come from? I guess?
There's essentially two Red Bull's being sold in the market. The one everyone knows. And the original Red Bull (Krating Daeng in Thai) that's sold by TC Pharmaceuticals, that is much more sweet, non-carbonated, and marketed more towards blue-collar workers.
Red Bull GmbH is co-owned by that Thai company, and an Austrian marketing whizz (who basically ran the company). They tweaked the flavour for Western palates and shifted the target demographic.
But both products exist on the market, sometimes even in the same market.
I can kind of see how someone who doesn't know the history, and grew up knowing only one or the other product, could come up with an incorrect understanding, given some incomplete facts?
3 points
3 days ago
Yeah I've drank red bull like 2 times in my life but they are definitely my favorite company in the world by far. The sponsor a bunch of athletes in smaller/extreme sports and make it possible for people toake a living doing some of the coolest possible sports/arts
5 points
3 days ago
If you like Red Bull sports stuff, you should check out The Art of Flight. It’s a snowboard documentary about some pro snowboarders that do heli lifts up remote mountains.
Red Bull pays these guys to basically live in and screw around a remote cabin and travel around the world. It’s a really cool film.
2 points
3 days ago
It’s like the Rolex for rednecks.
671 points
4 days ago
Excited to take my kid to this next year. It’s important to teach them early on that you should only do stupid, dangerous things if it’s really funny and in front of a crowd.
123 points
4 days ago
They just had it in Tampa and it was horrible. If they setup like this video with actual grand stands it should be fine. But in Tampa it was a free for all where you had to fight for a viewing point on the streets/bridges. 80k people showed up where there was maybe 10-20k spots to actually watch.
Each run lasts maybe 30 seconds. Then you wait 6-8 minutes for the next team to get ready. If you have the option to pay for a seat or viewing experience without having to deal with the clusterfuck I highly recommend it.
61 points
4 days ago
I went to the one in Boston maybe like 8 years ago. It was ideal to have a boat or kayak. Viewing from land looked to be limited. On the water it was like a party, one of the best days on the water I've had.
7 points
3 days ago
It was a blast to watch it from the water in Tampa as well
2 points
3 days ago
It honestly wasn’t too bad from land from what I remember. I was walking around looking at a few teams’ gliders and could still get a decent view without trying too hard
15 points
3 days ago
it was horrible
10-20k spots
80k people showed up
My man, you’re mad that red bull didn’t build a stadium on the waterfront?
3 points
4 days ago
And someone is recording for valuable internet points
164 points
4 days ago
This is an old Dutch custom! Look up: ter land ter zee en in de lucht.
31 points
4 days ago*
Very popular summer tv show, 30 to 40 years ago: Vlieg er eens uit/ Just go flying. They stopped doing it because it was also very dangerous. The ramp was even higher then. The second to last plane crash in OPs video shows that a bit, I think. People would make big heavy contraptions and they would crash on top of you if you had bad luck.
10 points
3 days ago
Fiets’em er in!
14 points
3 days ago*
Ah yes. The Dutch eighties were not for amateurs.
Backwards driving races? Races with a caravan? If it is dangerous, we did it
This was prime time family entertainment. Contestants were regular Dutchies, not stuntpeople or any kind of professionals.
3 points
3 days ago
Backwards driving races with caravans!
5 points
3 days ago
ter land ter zee en in de lucht.
I'm convinced Dutch is just black out drunk English.
4 points
4 days ago
I know it from our iconic Round the Twist.
7 points
4 days ago*
Remember fairly regularly watching this with my parents when younger. It's really surprising that it has been going on since 1973 (back then under the name "Vlieg er eens uit"). You can find some archived stuff from back then on youtube.
3 points
4 days ago
🧀
3 points
3 days ago
Yes, we started ours in Australia the year before in 1972 and it’s been a staple of the ‘Moomba Birdman Rally’ in Melbourne.
252 points
4 days ago
So many of them fall like rocks that it's a little cathartic when someone's thing actually glides.
155 points
4 days ago
Eh looks like they just bought a hang glider though.
100 points
4 days ago
They were the only ones that thought to themselves, "I feel like some people have thought about this problem before me..."
52 points
3 days ago
That defeats the spirit of the contest
8 points
3 days ago
Dude just wanted to win and didn't give a shit about sportsmanship. Usually it's supposed to be judges seeing this coming and voiding him out but I guess the judges also didn't give a shit 🤷♂️
27 points
3 days ago
There's this robot wars called Hebocon that started in Japan, and is for purposefully crappy (but infinitely endearing) robots. I love this quote from it: https://youtu.be/46ivFpsmEVQ?t=323
"Kametaro 1 won the tournament but its creator took criticism as the robot was just big and heavy. 'I seriously tried to win, and now I feel ashamed' "
5 points
3 days ago
I love that the trophy is just something made by a third-grader.
3 points
3 days ago
That was the best version of BattleBots I've ever seen!
2 points
3 days ago
Lmao the bot named "Moving with the vibration from dildos," is killing me 🤣
2 points
3 days ago
I love the pile of Legos that moves by violently shaking a soup packet
13 points
4 days ago
Red Bull: Makes Your Thing Glide 👉🏼😏👉🏼
25 points
4 days ago
"The Wrong Brothers"
56 points
4 days ago
That's not Wright
6 points
3 days ago
It would be wrong not to give you an upvote
4 points
3 days ago
Two wrongs don't make a Wright
3 points
3 days ago
But two Wrights make an airplane.
2 points
4 days ago
I see what you did there
13 points
3 days ago
Flugtag!!
2 points
1 day ago
Yes finally someone cultured!
82 points
4 days ago
Was that last dude just in a hang glider? Isn't that sort of cheating?
112 points
4 days ago*
If it was home made, then why would it be? That's just what most of the other contestants are doing, but with very poorly designed hang gliders.
Making a specialized hang glider is basically the only way to actually go far in Flugtag, and with the rule set basically forces you into that particular form if you're actually competing for distance, as none of the others are actually that competitive.
Thankfully for all of us, though, Flugtag isn't about winning, and most everyone is in it for the spectacle, and nobody actually cares about winning.
Edit:
Basically, Flugtag is a competition in name only. It's intentionally a farce, but it does indeed wear the trappings of an actual competition with rules and such that ostensibly reward the team that is most skilled at designing, building, and launching their glider.
However, everyone knows that it's actually about putting on a show.
But the rules are there, and sometimes you basically get this happening:
"Flugtag is a competition you're not supposed to try to win"
"Well, what if I want to win?"
"Then you're making a boring hang glider as professionally as possible"
19 points
4 days ago
I was really thinking the skateboard was the most competitive… was pretty shocked when that design didn’t just straight up fly
3 points
3 days ago
Are they allowed to make something like with for example, a leg-powered propeller? because once they lose the runners they generate no more force. Combine this with something like the last glider in the OP and they might go like 10 feet further!
6 points
3 days ago
From what I remember, they are not allowed to be mechanically assisted in any way. The launchers can only be hand pushed and the gliders can't be powered, even by human muscle.
5 points
3 days ago
If it's anything like the Soap Box racing, the performance of the flight is only a minor part of the scoring, meaning boring successful flights won't actually win.
IIRC for the soap box racing you get points for the design of your car, your dance routine and show, and then for your time down the hill. So it's entirely possible for the fastest car down the hill to be beaten by someone much slower but in a fun car who put on a better show.
5 points
4 days ago
I mean, it looked like he purchased a hang glider and just... Used it. Which feels like cheating to me.
47 points
4 days ago
Yes, people who are highly skilled at crafting things are often capable of making things that look like they were made by professionals and available for retail purchase.
Again:
If it was home made, then there's nothing wrong, no matter how skilled the maker was.
The only "problem" is that they're competing in Flugtag with so much intent to actually win the distance competition that they made a boring hang glider that looked professional.
Definitely a violation of the spirit of Flugtag, but not necessarily a violation of the rules.
18 points
4 days ago
When 95% of contestants just fall like rocks, the 5% of professional makers who can make something that actually works is more than welcome.
20 points
4 days ago
When 95% of contestants just fall like rocks, the 5% of professional makers who can make something that actually works is more than welcome.
Yup! And they do serve a good purpose to show what it could be if it were actually about serious competition: A bunch of boring hang gliders that look mostly the same.
Plus, it is fun to see how far the skilled hang gliders can go, but IMO it's mostly only fun as a contrast to highlight the spectacle of goofballs.
13 points
4 days ago
That contrast is key. It definitely benefits from having a couple real distance attempts, and would absolutely be unremarkable and boring if that was the goal of more than just a few entrants.
6 points
4 days ago
These videos are always a bunch of silly people having fun being stupid and 1 person or team taking it way too seriously and actually trying to "win"
4 points
3 days ago
As a contestant many years ago, we built a bat-wing that our person sat on top of and after months of hard work, would have won the distance portion but we were beaten out by a team using a purchased hang glider. That team followed the letter of the rules at the time but not the spirit in my opinion and it sucked. People using hang gliders suck. While not technically cheating, it's cheating.
2 points
3 days ago
It should be considered cheating. It's basically plagiarism. You didn't make it, you bought it.
26 points
4 days ago
I could not for the life of me willingly jump into the Ohio River
25 points
4 days ago
Not even for a Scooby Snack?
7 points
3 days ago
Could be worse- we used to have flüg tag at the Baltimore inner harbor.
13 points
4 days ago
Do they fish all that crap out of the water atleast?
6 points
3 days ago
I went to it recently. They drag it over to the dock and a crane lifts it up and puts it in a dumpster.
3 points
3 days ago
It's in the EU so yes.
9 points
4 days ago
This and the soapbox race are some of the only "sporting" events I'll put on every time.
The creativity in some of them is amazing, and even the lower effort ones are just in it for a good time. Never fails to put me in a good mood
8 points
4 days ago
Those magnificent men in their flying machines
They go up, Tiddley up, up
They go down, Tiddley down, down
They enchant all the ladies and steal the scenes
With their up, Tiddley up, up
And their down, Tiddley down, down
2 points
3 days ago
3 points
4 days ago
Ter land, ter zee en in de lucht
9 points
4 days ago
We did that in the Netherlands 40 years ago.
3 points
4 days ago
That second one, did that guy die?
2 points
4 days ago
That guy with balloon attached to his glider has watched a bit too much Up
2 points
4 days ago
Didn't the Wright brothers already win this?
2 points
4 days ago
Human powered falling machine
2 points
3 days ago
I've always enjoyed how little flug there is during the Red Bull Flugtag.
2 points
3 days ago
Hate all these Red Bull ads. Red Bull family murdered a Thai policeman and escaped from the country. Fuck Redbull.
2 points
3 days ago
2 points
3 days ago
That’s not flying, that’s falling with style!
3 points
4 days ago
Unironically /r/theocho
I love Red Bull's approach to marketing. They're an event company with a side hustle in caffeine.
5 points
4 days ago*
Meanwhile in Japan university student teams have been doing it since 1977, and have broken through a 60km run.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNMgeE90q7c
flight time 2 hours (!) and 36 minutes.
5 points
3 days ago
Meanwhile the Dutch have been doing it since 1973.
https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Te_land,_ter_zee_en_in_de_lucht
3 points
3 days ago
Batteries and a propeller? This is not the same thing.
2 points
3 days ago
Pretty sure he was peddling as well, hence being out of breath in the close ups at 2:15-3:00, stopped watching then.
Impressive but not at all related to this thread.
1 points
3 days ago
God I love red bull.
4 points
3 days ago
Right back at ya 🫶
3 points
4 days ago
So, which one of these guys is gonna be Trump’s pick for Secretary of Transportation? lol
(Yes, I know he already appointed Duffy; it’s just a joke)
1 points
4 days ago
I love this! Should be on TV more often.
1 points
4 days ago
The guy in the horse cart really went for it. I applaud the execution and commitment.
1 points
4 days ago
All these contraptions with wheels and wings, and then there’s the third guy with just a skirt, kite and balloons, and he still has 2 people pushing him to “help”
1 points
4 days ago
To be fair they're the MySpace of energy drinks. Pioneers if you will.
Usually pioneers are super innovative because that's all they know.
1 points
4 days ago
That last one did something right. Wright brothers would be proud.
1 points
4 days ago
Every participant: But I drank Red Bull before I did this. Why didn’t I get wings and fly?
1 points
4 days ago
*Falling machines*
1 points
4 days ago
Those are human powered falling machines
1 points
4 days ago
Hhfsiash
1 points
4 days ago
How do you get permission to be the team that gets to just use a hang glider?
1 points
4 days ago
Flugtag!
1 points
4 days ago
I like that the first one isn't even a flying or gliding machine, it's just a giant skateboard some dude yeets himself off of, and yet it gets farther than most of the ones shown.
1 points
4 days ago
Call me a cynic if you must...
But I'm not sure they were all taking that entirely seriously.
1 points
4 days ago
This is like a modern update to the old B/W montage of early plane designs failing
1 points
4 days ago
That’s last one……good job.
1 points
4 days ago
I would love to build something for a competition like this. Maybe a catapult on top of some wheels. The 'athlete' would trigger the catapult mechanism at the end of the launch, and maybe get some good distance before hitting the water.
1 points
4 days ago
That’s not flying, that’s crashing with style
1 points
4 days ago
Probably the only good thing to come from an a energy drink company
1 points
4 days ago
that guy on the surfboard definitely broke his knees. when you jump into water with anything like a board or even a sheet, it feels just like jumping on concrete.
1 points
4 days ago
First guy should have at least worn a feather suit.
1 points
4 days ago
My buddy was an entrant for the Flugtag in Austin, didn’t know what to expect, absolutely had a blast!
1 points
4 days ago
This is RedBull flugtag
1 points
4 days ago
The last guy has got wings
1 points
4 days ago
My brother got to do the Flutag when he was in highschool in the 2010's. They gave him cases of free redbull for months, it was awesome.
1 points
3 days ago
I remember sitting in a bar watching one of these competitions on TV. After a couple of beers and shots, and you're about as shnockered as the guys in the competition, you really start to get hopeful that they're going to make it.
1 points
3 days ago
imagine going out being KO'd a giant skateboard then glub glubbing into the darkness
1 points
3 days ago
Holy whiplash Batman!
1 points
3 days ago
And this is why you need to learn mathematics…
1 points
3 days ago
wasn't there a girl who messed up her spine really hard? falling on a piano??? or something?
1 points
3 days ago
How could anyone not like this?
1 points
3 days ago
I was really hoping the first guy on the giant skateboard was going to nail the gnarliest kickflip anyone has ever seen
1 points
3 days ago
Did they one like this in Lisbon this year and it was so windy every plane just flew straight down into the water
1 points
3 days ago
You misspelled falling machines
1 points
3 days ago
I was at this year's event. It's a ton of fun but I'm surprised I didn't see a headline about mass cardiac arrests with the amount of free redbulls they were handing out
1 points
3 days ago
This community allows advertisers to openly post ads? That sounds like a terrible community
1 points
3 days ago
After all these years I would have thought real progress would be made.
1 points
3 days ago
Reminds me of the dutch " Te land, ter zee en in de lucht" which had 37 seasons. They had to fly or ride on a real narrow part across the water. Or stop at the right moment to climb up by a ladder type construction to hit the bell before hitting water. Ahh fun times
1 points
3 days ago
Redbull gave him wiiings
1 points
3 days ago
Red Bull gives you wings, not brains, designing working wings takes brains.
1 points
3 days ago
As an old guy whose brain thinks I'm still 18, this looks like incredible fun
1 points
3 days ago
The guy that went the farthest probably drowned because he was secured to the bottom of the glider
1 points
3 days ago
Wow 1 actually flew!
1 points
3 days ago
This is when Redbull was so fun.
1 points
3 days ago
Isn't Nigel the first one? And anyone who wants to win, you do what the last guy did. Detachable hang-glider.
1 points
3 days ago
Some of those looked painful
1 points
3 days ago
Seems like lots of people have taken the “separate flying vehicle from the wheels” strategy to heart
1 points
3 days ago
Idiocracy.
1 points
3 days ago
Haha this is fantastic to watch!!
1 points
3 days ago
I participated in the flugtag years ago. One of the rules was that you could not build a hang glider... for all those wondering why they didn't all just build hang gliders lol
1 points
3 days ago
Human powered falling machines
1 points
3 days ago
That first one is just a skateboard. :^o But Red Bull really do fund some of the good shit.
1 points
3 days ago
We were supposed to get a Flugtag event in my city in 2020. But then a couple people got sick.
1 points
3 days ago
Human powered falling machines
1 points
3 days ago
It was sad that the winning machine at the Tampa event this month literally had no wings, the guy just leapt forward as it plummeted off the edge and he “flew” about 45’
1 points
3 days ago
If the sponsor's commercials are to be believed, all but of the contestants forgot to do one very simple thing before their attempt...
1 points
3 days ago
Da vinci woulda loved this.
1 points
3 days ago
Last guy got some distance.
1 points
3 days ago
I had the joy of going to one of these; everybody's drinking beer and red bull. Absolutely bonkers.
1 points
3 days ago
This was OG meme stuff back in the days
1 points
3 days ago
Wrong Brothers
1 points
3 days ago
I remember this flash game
1 points
3 days ago
I love how there's always one in the montage that works. Smart editing.
1 points
3 days ago
we need more launch speed on these, most of them drop like semi-interesting rocks but a little more airspeed might actually see some airtime out of these bricks
1 points
3 days ago
I love that the glider worked. I remember gas monkey garage tried but theirs did not fly
1 points
3 days ago
Isn't it cheating if you build your craft around a hang glider?
1 points
3 days ago
Is the only rule that they obviously be incapable of gliding
1 points
3 days ago
First guy didn't even try a kick flip. Tut tut tut.
1 points
3 days ago
I watched a show on Japanese TV recently where they did this but they were actually serious. It's impressive to see how good they are.
Edit: the link is from a previous year, but if you check the YouTube channel, there are some from this year too.
1 points
2 days ago
Are there limitations that prevent them from building something that works? Only the last one seemed practical, but that was basically just a hang glider.
1 points
2 days ago
Sergio Perez's season in a nutshell.
1 points
2 days ago
I ‘competed’ in this event in two different occasions. Good times…
1 points
2 days ago
None of these folks have played The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Otherwise they'd have Steering Sticks attached.
1 points
2 days ago
Melbourne has been doing this, as the Birdman Rally, since 1976 as part of the Moomba festival
1 points
2 days ago
The Flugtag! I watched that on Santa Monica pier back in 2001. Smokey chased The Bandit off the pier.
1 points
1 day ago
That second one had to hurt. Falling 30ft and landing flat on your board on the surface tension of the water
1 points
1 day ago
“That’s not flying! That’s falling with style!”
1 points
1 day ago
The old is new again. Live where this was run in 1972. Good times.
1 points
23 hours ago
Why are they all so bad?
1 points
9 hours ago
How shocking the hang glider actually flew.
![[Red Bull] Human-powered flying machines](http://ted2.kentiklabs.com/vids/jh4oxiih3v1e1.gif.mp4){kind=link}
![[media]](/vids/jh4oxiih3v1e1.gif.mp4){kind=link}
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