First came the news that Enron was back.
Yes, Enron — the energy company whose profits were built on long-term fraud and which ended up filing what was, in 2001, the largest bankruptcy in history.
Last month, people began noticing a website for a seemingly reborn Enron, using the same logo and branding, and announcing an ambitious mission: “solving the global energy crisis.”
Then, on Monday, the new Enron emerged with a glitzy marketing video announcing its new product, the Enron Egg, which the company proclaimed to be “the world’s first micro nuclear reactor for residential suburban use.”
What? Was Enron, a company that became synonymous with corporate malfeasance, really about to unleash nuclear reactors into homes around the world?
As you may have guessed, the answer is no. The announcement, and indeed the unexpected return of Enron itself, was part of an elaborate stunt.
The first sign of parody is in the identity of the company’s “chief executive.” Connor Gaydos, 28, is best known as one of the creators of the satirical conspiracy theory “Birds Aren’t Real.” That campaign, featuring billboards, videos and a book co-authored by Mr. Gaydos, promulgated the theory that birds are really drone replicas designed to spy on Americans.
The book description laid out the case: “Have you ever seen a baby pigeon? You haven’t, have you?” It continued: “Today, there are millions of grown up pigeons in New York, but not a baby pigeon to be seen. That’s because they come out of the factory as adults.”
As Mr. Gaydos told The New York Times in 2021: “If anyone believes birds aren’t real, we’re the last of their concerns, because then there’s probably no conspiracy they don’t believe.”
Still, Mr. Gaydos is committed to Enron, or at least to the bit. I talked to him on Thursday, and when he said, “I genuinely believe that Enron is one of America’s top brands, up there with Coca-Cola, Nike and Levi’s,” it was with an earnestness that makes you almost believe him, or at least want to.
“It had an amazing legacy,” he said, “prior to the debacle.”
Mr. Gaydos bought the Enron trademark for $275. At first glance, Enron would seem like one of the least likely trademarks in history to be revived. In the late 1990s, the energy company was a smashing success, with annual revenues of more than $100 billion and ample influence in Washington.
But it turned out the profits were built on sand: overuse of loopholes, shifting money around, and misreporting. Executives were convicted. The company was gone.
Until now, that is. Kind of.
“I’ve heard a lot about what happened and how terrible it was,” Mr. Gaydos said of Enron’s previous life. “I’m not excusing it, but I think that at this point we deserve a second chance.”
In general, the “reborn” Enron is not strong on humility, as its website declares it (already) “the world’s leading company.”
In its big product announcement this week, which it shared on social media, Mr. Gaydos stood on a stage dressed and sounding a bit like Steve Jobs. Claiming to have “harnessed the power of the atom,” he introduced the Enron Egg, which he insisted could power a home for up to 10 years.
Flashy graphics played on a screen behind him, looking a lot like those in a typical Silicon Valley presentation, as he unveiled a large egg emblazoned with the Enron logo. He promised to revolutionize not only the “power industry” but also the “independence industry” and “freedom industry.”
Anyone still thinking the product was genuine might have been given additional pause when told that a key component was something called “Enronium ore.”
“Enronium is really just a funny way of renaming minerals that are already sort of in the zeitgeist,” Mr. Gaydos said in an interview.
The gobbledygook continued after Mr. Gaydos introduced Enron’s chief technology officer, Daniel Wong, who reassured any nervous observers that the egg used only 20 percent enriched uranium, “far too low to make an atomic weapon.” In reality, 20 percent is the threshold at which uranium can be potentially used in a bomb.
In the interview, Mr. Gaydos insisted, “The nuclear egg is 100 percent real.” He vowed, improbably, to have it on the market “by the end of Quarter 1.”
(As a final, certain indication that the new Enron is satirical, a voluminous “terms of use” appears on its website, including the line “The information on the website is First Amendment protected parody, represents performance art, and is for entertainment purposes only.”)
The company is also seeking trademarks on a host of potential Enron-branded products including calculators, earbuds and sunglasses, “dog tags for wear by humans,” pens, tote bags, cookie cutters, paper plates, polo shirts, golf tees, puppets, and — for whatever reason — fruit drinks and punches. Also: crypto currency services, though one wonders about the perceived value and safety of a coin called Enron.
In the interview, Mr. Gaydos compared himself to the biblical figure Noah and President-elect Donald J. Trump.
“Much like Napoleon,” he said, “finding the crown of France in the gutter, picking it up, washing it off, putting it on his head: I think in a lot of ways that’s what I’m doing.”