# Crop Circle Tech Hoaxes Nvidia Set Up Crop Circles to Promote Its 192-Core Tegra K1 Chip By Laura McQuarrie | Published 2014-02-18 | Marketing Source: Trend Hunter, https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/crop-circles References: [creativeguerrillamarketing](http://www.creativeguerrillamarketing.com/guerrilla-marketing/nvidia-creates-crop-circles-ces-guerrilla-marketing-campaign/) & [nvidia](http://www.nvidia.com/content/global-new/crop-circle.html) Mysterious crop circles appeared in Salinas, California on December 2013 and as usual, it caused people to speculate how they got there and whether they were left by humans or extraterrestrials. Although there were some crazy theories put together by alien enthusiasts, [Nvidia](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/mkv) announced at the Consumer Electronics Show that it was all a stunt to promote its new [192-core Tegra K1 processing chip](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/nvidia-n1x). The crop circle itself does look very much like a [computer chip](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/ic-design) and one of the clues that ties it to Nvidia is the number 192, which was spelled out in braille at its center. The hoax even went as far as having two guys driving in California shoot a low-quality video "discovering" the crop circle by following an unusual green light. The whole stunt had viral appeal and it was quite a clever way to promote a technology that’s so advanced, it almost seems like it could be alien-made. ## Trend Insights (Trend Hunter) - Score: 3.7/10 - Popularity: 29% | Activity: 74% | Freshness: 8% - Audience gender: 70% men, 30% women - Primary generations: Millennial - Top markets: North America ## Categories [Trend Hunter](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends) > [Marketing](https://www.trendhunter.com/marketing) > [Publicity Stunts](https://www.trendhunter.com/publicitystunts) ## Key Themes ### Why This Trend Is Growing - **Alternative Marketing:** Using unconventional methods like crop circles to promote products or services. - **Guerrilla Advertising:** Sneaky and non-traditional approaches to promote a brand covertly. - **Viral Marketing:** Creating content or ads that people would share on social media, making it go viral and generating a buzz around the product. ### Industries Being Reshaped - **Technology:** Companies and businesses use creative advertising to promote their latest technology and gadgets. - **Entertainment:** Movie studios and entertainment companies use these methods to promote their upcoming movies and TV shows. - **Food and Beverage:** Marketing their newest products by using innovative and catchy ideas to promote to customers. ## Related on Trend Hunter - [Electric Tractor AI-Chips](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/mkv.md) - [Extraterrestrial Influencer Campaigns](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/alien-acquisition.md) - [Mixed-Reality Burrito Ads](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/chipotle-1.md) - [AI-Fueled 3D Imaging Tools](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/3d-imaging-tool.md) - [Digital Twin Advertising Partnerships](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/cocacola-2.md) - [Cutting-Edge Robotic Mower Technologies](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/robotic-mower1.md) - [Artificial Intelligence Computing Chips](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/falcon-shores.md) - [Sci-Fi-Inspired Kitchenware Commercials](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/hexclad.md) - [Modern Technology Conferences](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/gtc-conference.md)