Marketing campaigns are everywhere. They are used to promote anything and everything which you’re familiar with the usual attempts. The occasional commercial, pop up advertisement, billboards, you know the common ways to showcase an upcoming release or brand new product. However, some marketing teams attempt to go a bit bigger and offer a new way to promote their product. In this list, we’re going to tell you about some of the most bizarre attempts to promote games and consoles over the years. Take note that these campaigns are not ranked in any particular order.
#10 Dead Space 2
Dead Space is a well-known horror franchise today and while we only got three main installments, the marketing for Dead Space 2 was rather odd. EA decided the best way to show just how over the top terrifying the sequel to Dead Space was going to be is through sharing reactions to mothers. This was done by bringing in a selection of mothers and filming them as they watch snippets of gory moments with grotesque monsters. Obviously, the best reactions and disdain of the game got selected for a marketing commercial release.
#9 The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is huge there’s no getting around it. Years after its release and the Bethesda team is still putting the game out on new consoles. It’s not surprising when someone names their child after being inspired by an entertainment medium. However, the Bethesda team thought it was a good idea to help you out. If you’re a fan of Bethesda then you may have already been interested in Skyrim, but Bethesda wanted to see just how far people will go. So a new campaign started in which Bethesda would give every Bethesda game release to a couple for free as long as they named their child Dovahkiin. There was a slight catch, the child had to be born during the launch day of the game.
#8 Homefront
Homefront is a game that follows a story of Korea overtaking the United States and players taking part in a resistance movement. What better way to promote the game then by releasing a ton of balloons? Yeah, apparently a PR firm released a ton of balloons to promote the game and they ended up landing in the San Francisco Bay. It ended up being a $7,000 fine by the water control officials.
#7 God of War 2
You’re all aware of the God of War franchise. This is no kids game as it features a wide range of mature subject matter. So how do you capitalize on a marketing party to help get the word out for God of War 2? Apparently, you mix in the Greece settings, toss in some authentic food choices, oh and also throw in topless women along with a dead goat. Yeah, things seemed to have been just as mature for the God of War 2 marketing party as the game showcases, just without the god-killing. The biggest uproar came from an actual dead goat carcass which was put up as a prop to be a sacrifice. From what we gather it doesn’t look like the goat was actually killed in front of reporters, but still, it got a lot of negative attention which resulted in Sony making some drastic changes to how they handled marketing events going forward.
#6 Burnout 2
Burnout is your standard arcade style racing video game. This series is well known and its especially known for over the top speeds, near misses and ultimately, massive crashes. There’s a real charm about going as fast as you possibly can during a busy roadway within a video game. When you crash, no one gets hurt, the game simply respawns your vehicle and you’re off once again. It’s a rinse and repeat type of situation, but that’s of course in a video game. What was completely bizarre was the publishers behind Burnout 2: Point of Impact had the idea of mixing their latest video game with real life. When the game released in 2001, Acclaim Entertainment thought it would be a good idea to advertising that they would pay anyone’s speeding ticket if it was issued during the launch day of their game. This was only a promotion during the UK and a few years later the company went out of business. We can’t believe someone actually thought this was a good idea.
