'Mystery solved': Lightning ball seen across Singapore part of marketing stunt

Paranormal activity, natural phenomenon or artificial intelligence (AI)? 

Sightings of purple glowing spheres around Singapore had gone viral on TikTok recently, with the orbs being seen bouncing around Tampines, Yishun and Pasir Ris.

"Mystery solved: Seen these purple ball lightning videos online? That was us," said fintech company YouTrip, in an Instagram post on Monday (Sept 22), adding that the videos were all part of marketing promotions.

The first TikTok clip surfaced on Sept 19, with dash dashcam footage from a car capturing a luminescent purple orb bouncing across the street in Tampines.

@sundayannab1 bruh… what’s this #fyp #ghost #haunted #singapore #tiktoksg ♬ original sound - sunday

The video has since garnered over 3.7 million views and almost 70,000 shares.

A second sighting uploaded by a different user on Sept 20 showed the orb moving across Pasir Ris park. It appeared to emit bolts of lightning each time it hit the ground, leaving a trail of smoke in its wake.

Netizens flooded the comments on each TikTok video, suggesting ball lightning — a rare phenomenon where bright spheres of lightning form amid a thunderstorm — as the cause of these rare sightings.

Others said that it was AI-generated, while some said that it was related to new local sci-fi film, We Can Save The World!!!

As it turns out, the purple orbs were a marketing stunt by YouTrip for Trippie, their birthday mascot.

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by YouTrip Singapore (@youtripsg)

In their video, three purple creatures were seen emerging from a suitcase at Jewel Changi Airport.

"These tiny dragons zipped from Tampines to Yishun before landing in a suitcase at Changi, and now... they're ready to make a big splash," said the local fintech company, adding that those curious to find out more will have to tune in on Sept 24 for more details.

Netizens were quick to react, with many praising YouTrip's marketing team for coming up with the idea.

Another user also brought up their previous stunt in April, where they posted videos of purple skies over the Johor-Singapore Causeway in commemoration of their new Malaysian ringgit wallet. 

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dana.leong@asiaone.com