Free Gas = Best Marketing Ploy EVER?

This could be the best marketing campaign of the year. To push Mercenaries 2: World in Flames, EA is giving away free petrol in northern London today. The line is long and some are waiting for upwards of an hour for free gas. People don’t seem to mind as they get to fill up their tanks for free.

EA took over a Last Stop Garage and re-branded it with Mercenaries 2 posters and fuel attendants dressed in fatigues. Louise Marchant, from EA, said the scenes of queuing mimicked aspects of the game.  She explained: “It’s set in Venezuela, you play a mercenary and fuel is used as a currency.” This added fact makes the campaign more compelling as it hints to elements of the game’s design.

So far it’s getting rave reviews:

A woman waiting in line says, “So I came down to wait in the que. And I just noticed that it says Mercenaries. And I was like Good for Mercenaries! With the fuel prices and every thing else… every little bit counts. This counts an awful lot for my family.”

Prince Davis, 37, who queued patiently for a quarter of an hour for free petrol, said: “This is a genius idea, whoever thought of this should be promoted. “I’ll definitely be buying the game, you’re never too old to play computer games.”

This is meaningful marketing. The campaign is making an impact on people’s lives while spreading the word about the game. Well done EA!

(For more coverage check out Bruce on Games and Bitburo.net)

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