Hundreds Of Drones Square Up In The Sky To ‘Rick Roll’ The Entire City Of Dallas

While trends & memes come and go on the internet by the minute, very few are able to truly withstand the test of time: the ‘Rick Roll’ is one of them.

For the unfamiliar, the joke involves sending a disguised link to Rick Astley’s classic hit ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’, which will no doubt draw groans when the receiver realizes they’ve been got. 

In a rather futuristic version of the prank, Sky Elements Drone Shows took to Dallas skies on April Fools’ Day this year with 300 customizable drones in the form of a QR code, which when scanned, led directly to Astley’s famed music video. 

Preston Ward, the company’s chief pilot, revealed to the Dallas Observer that the idea had emerged from a co-worker, who wanted to take the idea for a QR code, which the firm completed for the Halo series on Paramount+, and turn it into a Rick Roll.

To pull off the feat, the team used 300 drones with GPS tracking systems and high-powered LEDs to broadcast the 100-foot wide, 250-foot tall image for about 20 minutes across the night sky. 

While it can’t be confirmed just how many people were tricked, Ward said it tracked “a couple hundred” of scans throughout the night, with hits increasing as videos of the display circulated on social media platforms.

Take a look at the video below to see just how the company pulled off the prank from behind-the-scenes.

[via Dallas Observer and UPI, cover image via Sky Elements Drone Shows]