A couple of weeks back, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the rebranding of the platform into “Metaverse.” In a video, Zuckerberg explained the 3D virtual reality of Metaverse by having himself inserted into computer-generated imagery. Iceland has parodied Zuckerberg’s presentation by creating a similar ad for its tourism industry. The ad features a copy of the Metaverse set as well as a Zuckerberg lookalike who welcomes viewers to a “very natural set.”
“Today I want to talk about a revolutionary approach in how to connect our world without being super weird. Some said it’s not possible, some said it’s out of reach, to them we say its already here… seriously look, it’s already here,” the lookalike says in the advert while pointing to the snowy Icelandic landscape outside his window. He calls the “new chapter in human connectivity” as the “Icelandverse.”
The lookalike then appears in front of a hot spring, wearing copious amounts of sunscreen on his face, mocking the look Zuckerberg sported last year during his vacation. “It’s completely immersive… with water… that’s wet,” the lookalike says while splashing water from the spring.
The ad was uploaded to Iceland’s Twitter account on Nov. 11 and has received over 34,000 likes and 10,000 retweets. “Absolutely nailed Zuckerberg’s uncanny valley vibes lol,” one user said.
The country’s officials also chipped in with the mockery. During the video’s press release, Sigridur Dogg Gudmundsdottir, head of Visit Iceland, said that “Icelandverse has been built with experts in government, industry, nature, and academia, plus a few volcanoes.”
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Press materials continued on with the parody, claiming that the Icelandverse has been created after “millions of years in development” and that users can explore different layers of reality “just by visiting.”
Iceland’s ad is one of the many parodies the Metaverse advert has triggered. Meta PC, a company that shares names with Facebook’s Meta recently released a video featuring its founder Zack Shutt proclaiming – “To reflect who we are and what we hope to build I’m proud to announce that we are now Facebook.” In another post, Meta PC photoshopped Zuckerberg holding one of their products.
MetaPC is also in a tussle with Facebook over trademarking the word “Meta.” The Arizona-based computer supplier submitted for registering their trademark in August and thus has an edge over the social media platform. If Facebook attempts to get the name from them, the founders expect a payment of no less than $20 million, according to The Guardian.
“We’ve bootstrapped this company with our own personal funds. When we learned Facebook chose the same name, it was obviously a concern that we would lose whatever organic reach we had worked hard to build,” Shutt said.
