(Reykjavik) Want to let go of the reins for good? With great hoof kicks, Icelandic horses can take care of composing your automatic absence replies by e-mail for free, in a service just launched by the Icelandic tourist office.
Posted at 9:41 a.m.
In a whimsical promotional video, the Icelandic agency reveals its secret: a giant keyboard on which horses – of the famous Icelandic breed – cheerfully trample the keys in the most beautiful landscapes of the island.
The result is quite far from the expected professional etiquette with nonsensical messages like “JJJJJJJJJJ” or “8io:l:; l:oiiþ::”.
But 8,000 people have already subscribed to this service, called “Outhorse your email”, a horse-like deformation of the English verb “outsource” (outsource your email).
“Iceland has launched its ‘OutHorse Your Email’ service to help travelers disconnect and enjoy all that the country has to offer, without interruption,” Sigríður Dögg Guðmundsdóttir, head of Iceland, told AFP. VisitIceland.
Small Icelandic horses – sometimes confused with ponies – are one of the emblems of the country.
In the video, which has more than 130,000 views since it was posted online, a tourist played by an actress is annoyed to receive dozens of emails while on vacation in sublime places, from the Solheimajökull glacier, diving in the Silfra fault or taking a selfie during the eruption of a geyser.
The tourist agency, which relied on one of its own surveys, reveals that 55% of those questioned check their emails at least once a day during their holidays, being accustomed to videos going around the world.
In July 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, she encouraged her visitors to scream on an online platform before broadcasting the sound to seven deserted places in the country.
Last fall, she parodied Facebook executive Mark Zuckerberg’s vaunted metaverse by contrasting it with an idyllic “Icelandverse.”