I have a belt ... I have a buckle: Hong Kong police ridiculed online for viral video spoof
Officers mimic viral Pen-Pineapple-Apple-Pen song in bid to get drivers to buckle up
An official Hong Kong police video in which serving officers perform a musical routine based on a Japanese internet sensation has been buried under a deluge of social media ridicule after being viewed more than a million times in less than 24 hours.
Over the same period, the 33-second video – which aims to encourage the wearing of seat belts and was posted on the force’s official Facebook page on Wednesday – had been shared 8,600 times, received 7,500 likes and been commented on by more than 4,400 people.
“From our experiences and observations, timely posts relating to a trendy topic and soft stories are more popular and more likely to attract higher reach on social media platforms,” the force said in statement to the South China Morning Post.
By Thursday night at least one spoof version of the video – which mimics the viral internet hit Pen-Pineapple-Apple-Pen – was on YouTube.
One senior officer, who declined to be identified, said: “It’s an embarrassment, the force looks more like a farce with this video. What were they thinking?”
The clip opens with two t-shirt clad officers – one male and one female – dancing and singing as they mimic the action of putting on a seat belt while singing the words “I have a seat belt, I have a buckle” repeatedly.
It then switches to two male officers – in uniform – sitting in what appears to be a police van doing the same routine
