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Oh how we wish this was an office prank, "Remember that time Stan from accounts asked where his chair was, and it was, like, totally in space and stuff?" Alas no. But it is a rather impressive advertising campaign all the same.
To plug their latest range of laptops and TVs, Toshiba sent an "ordinary living room chair" 98,268 feet up to the edge of space attached to a helium balloon. No, we don't get the connection either.
They claim the ad - which aired for the first time on ITV last night - shows their "brand philosophy of leading innovation" -- but all we know is it makes us want to buy a helium balloon, not a new computer.
The chair, which was made from balsa wood, was launched from a site in Nevada, with the Helium balloon taking it quickly skyward. Four GPS systems then tracked the progress of the chair to within 30cm, as a lightweight camera filmed away in HD.
After 83 minutes the balloon and chair reached an altitude of 98,268 feet where it broke and took just 24 minutes to fall back down to earth, hitting speeds of 700mph.
Check out the video and a making of, after the jump.
