When game promotions go wrong.

[Juu-kuchi]

We all know how much promoting a game is. If one does not promote, a sequel will not get the vote, to be considered in development. Thus, it is the way of the universe when people try to celebrate, promote, and advertise games, systems, and accessories to the masses to persuade them to buy their product.

But what happens when you get this (http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23394277-details/Slaughter:%20Horror%20at%20Sony%27s%20depraved%20promotion%20stunt%20with%20d%20ecapitated%20goat/article.do)?

And for that matters, name the most memorable, and at times your favorite bad moves by game companies when they are in promotional mode with their products.

[.bg]

When the Jaguar came out, there were only 12 employees at Atari UK, all working multiple jobs. They didn't have enough stock. Moms were camping out outside the Atari UK HQ, some were even picketing.

Needless to say, the Jaguar was a worldwide failure, only finding popularity in Thailand and Korea.

[Bones Justice]

But what happens when you get this (http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23394277-details/Slaughter:%20Horror%20at%20Sony%27s%20depraved%20promotion%20stunt%20with%20d%20ecapitated%20goat/article.do)?


"Topless Girls! and Flesh Eating?" Sounds like Sony has a winner! :evil:

Seriously, animals are killed for advertisements all the time; check out the adverts for your local Kentucky Fried Chicken stands, for example. If the goat in the promotion above was going to be eaten anyways (they said it was from a butcher shop), I'm not sure that I see the problem unless you are a vegan/vegetarian. Besides, I really doubt they decapitated the goat until after it was killed.

I prefer topless girls to the pictures of nearly naked / oiled males that were featured in adverts for Crash Bandicoot or the Gamecube.

[Mek]

I'm not a vegan or a vegetarian (though I do vastly prefer vegetables to meat and eat both, but that's for another topic elsewhere), but I HATE killing animals for senseless PR stunts like this.

Couldn't they have at least used a fake goat or something? I mean, there ARE people out there who can essentially recreate all the parts and stuff with latex and crap to the point where it could pass for the real thing.

Seriously. Sony used to be king of the hill, but these PR stunts they've been doing is hurting them.

[Wussycat]

I just can't understand Sony's advertising team. Could they secretly be agents from Nintendo or Microsoft?

[Mog]

I'm not a vegan or a vegetarian (though I do vastly prefer vegetables to meat and eat both, but that's for another topic elsewhere), but I HATE killing animals for senseless PR stunts like this.

Couldn't they have at least used a fake goat or something? I mean, there ARE people out there who can essentially recreate all the parts and stuff with latex and crap to the point where it could pass for the real thing.

Seriously. Sony used to be king of the hill, but these PR stunts they've been doing is hurting them.
It was bought from a butchers shop. ie, it was already dead.

Read people.

[Zeonic Freak]

If only Segata were still around, since he would beat the crap outta ya if you didnt play your Saturn...

That was a winner!!!!:D

[peacebyanymeans]

This is London is part of the Daily Mail, a British Tabloid.

[YoshiAngemon]

There WAS one time, at a Toys R Us, when they gave away Mew for the GBA games. One kid wanted over 100 Mews, so he can trade them. The limit was 1 per customer, and the mother threatened to sue. So the kid got several Mews, while others were left to suffer! They should do a Pokémon Event that allows MANY to download Mew, in an orderly fashion. Luckily, my location was one of many that didn't suffer that fate.

[SAMaine]

It doesn't matter what happened now that Fox News (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,269087,00.html) has discovered it. The spin is in and it will be anti-gamer

[Rasputin]

Bloody Daily Mail...

*shakes fist*

I find it depressingly predictable how they're bringing the scourge of 'violent video games' into the furore over what is nothing more but an exceptionally retarded PR exercise with topless girls, a dead goat, and nary a pixel in sight.

I'll give 'em kudos for audacity, definitely.

[Camdon]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Sony's god-awful PSP viral marketing attempt (the "alliwantforxmasisapsp.com" blog ring any bells?).

[danreyes1]

As I have mentioned in other topics, Sony doesn't seem quite right with the advertisement department as of late. Racist squirrels, demonic babies, and exploding bags of money. And now a decapitated goat.

Now as for classic adverts, I remember one for I think the Army Men series, where a Huggles-like teddy bear was obliterated by an Army Man who then said "Damn Yuppies". This was on Cartoon Network, not exactly the place to advertise games like that.

[Chad Bonin]

Sony? Screw up a promotional gimmick? You jest.

Nintendo- Go to old folks homes, get them to play the Wii. Articles ensue.
SPOKESMEN: "Wii would like to play"

Microsoft- Go to the PS3 launches, hand out chairs apologizing that they had to wait, and floats barges alongside the "crowds".
SPOKESMEN: The gamers spoke for themselves by jumping in.

Sony- "Who wants to eat out of a goat?"
SPOKESMEN: Crazy baby, the aforementioned racist squirrels, and Crazy Ken himself.

[Bones Justice]

I find it depressingly predictable how they're bringing the scourge of 'violent video games' into the furore over what is nothing more but an exceptionally retarded PR exercise with topless girls, a dead goat, and nary a pixel in sight.


Speaking of pixels, if that article's picture were from the United States, they would have left the goat's remains in full view and the girl's breasts would have been pixelated instead. Censorship, go figure.

[Juu-kuchi]

Oh yes, and we all also remember the promotion of the new white PSP am I correct?

To Sony's credit (I think), I believe in the UK release of the PS3, they offered a free plasma something television and a free cab ride home. But that's just one success of out many failures of marketing.

[danreyes1]

Speaking of pixels, if that article's picture were from the United States, they would have left the goat's remains in full view and the girl's breasts would have been pixelated instead. Censorship, go figure.

Interesting thing about British censorship: there is none for nudity. I once saw a newscast where a bunch of people layed dsown naked in the street for an artist's photgraph, and while interviewing two people their bits were in full view with nary a pixel in sight.

Fun country ^^

[Robin2099]

Sony really needs to fire whoever is in their advertising department. Since GOW2 takes place in ancient Greek times, I can understand the topless women women servents, since the point was to treat the people their like royalty. But what exactly does a real decapatated goat have to do with anything. The whole thing is just bizarre and stupid.

[Bones Justice]

Interesting thing about British censorship:


Well, since we're speaking about regional differences -- is it common in England to use the word "corpse" instead of "carcass" when referring to a dead animal? Obviously, the article already has an anti-Sony/videogames bias but "corpse" is usually a reference to a dead human. I also thought the word "decapitated" felt a little out of place since they bought the goat (dead) from a butcher shop. I don't know about the rest of you but none of the meat that I eat comes with the head attached. I wouldn't be surprised if the goat came that way from the butcher shop.


Sony really needs to fire whoever is in their advertising department. Since GOW2 takes place in ancient Greek times, I can understand the topless women women servents, since the point was to treat the people their like royalty. But what exactly does a real decapatated goat have to do with anything. The whole thing is just bizarre and stupid.

They ate goats in ancient Greek times. Actually, plenty of people eat goats now. It makes more sense than having cold-cuts or Spam on the table, doesn't it?

While I don't think this was the greatest idea for a promotion, Sony probably did it to get attention. Again, it's not like they bought a live goat and chopped it's head off at the event. They bought what they thought was authentic-looking food for the time period from a butcher shop. I honestly don't see how this is really any different than serving meat at any other promotional event or in entertainment. I never heard anybody complaining about Rocky hitting a side of beef in the movies, afterall.

[Mikintosh]

The point is that the promotion had the definite potential to look bad in the eyes of vegetarians and animal lovers (do they think all PS owners are carnivores?) I'm not saying the reaction was appropriate, but for crying out loud, this is advertising. It doesn't matter whether the company "deserves it" or not. Sony's paying for the privilege of accumulating bad PR that only serves to damage the launch of a game a lot of people were going to buy anyway. And this is the same with almost every marketing campaign the company's done for the last couple of years, which is a spectacular streak of failure, really.

Frankly, they'd be better off firing their current public relations company and not replacing them, because the only good PR Sony gets is the kind they had almost no involvement in.

[Undrave]

Meh... as long as they don't waste the goat I don't mind. It's a lot of noise for nothing.