A Splinter Cell: Conviction marketing stunt went a bit too far in Auckland, New Zealand. According to the New Zealand Herald, a man with bandages on his hands pointed a fake gun at the patrons of a bar, who responded by diving under tables and calling the police. The money quote comes from Senior Sergeant Ben Offner, who said, "We consider these types of stunts to be very ill-advised and have real concerns a similar one may one day end in tragedy." Er, "ill-advised" would be putting it lightly.
The company responsible for the stunt, The Monaco Corporation, claims it hired another marketing company to organize the promotion and didn't know a gun would be used. It apologized for the stunt, with a spokesperson stating it was "marketing gone wrong." So wrong, in fact, that the report refers to the game as "Splinter Cell: Evolution." The situation sounds a lot worse than it apparently was, as police only "cautioned" two men at the scene.
[Via Kotaku]
Reader Comments (31)
Posted: Apr 19th 2010 11:48AM SecretAgentHam said
*facepalm*
Posted: Apr 19th 2010 12:13PM Temidien said
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Posted: Apr 19th 2010 1:47PM Signature said
Not really a facepalm moment at all tbh.
For all you know, this could have been what they wanted. Its got you talking about it, every blog has a post on this, and it has even gathered the attention of casuals to the game and this stunt.
Marketing win if you ask
Reply
For all you know, this could have been what they wanted. Its got you talking about it, every blog has a post on this, and it has even gathered the attention of casuals to the game and this stunt.
Marketing win if you ask
Posted: Apr 19th 2010 11:48AM MrAlex said
That's really, really stupid marketing, hopefully this doesn't reflect badly on gaming.
Posted: Apr 19th 2010 11:49AM mtlyoshi9 said
...lol
Posted: Apr 19th 2010 11:50AM Captain Planet Planeteer Power said
I just need to know two things:
1. Who do I punch?
2. How hard?
1. Who do I punch?
2. How hard?
Posted: Apr 19th 2010 11:54AM ytilanigiroon said
1. The Monaco Corporation.
2. Like the fist of an angry god.
Reply
2. Like the fist of an angry god.
Posted: Apr 19th 2010 11:52AM (Unverified) said
I have a game I'm working on about a vigilante firefighter who was kicked out of the department, but has gone rogue in search of the arsonist that took his son's life. As a marketing campaign, I'm going to get a couple of guys to stand next to a bonfire until they smell nice and smokey. Then they're going to run frantically into a crowded theater and yell "FIRE!"
It's going to be a hit with the authorities.
It's going to be a hit with the authorities.
Posted: Apr 19th 2010 11:54AM Hunter141072 said
, DRM that doesn´t work, publicity stunts that not only end bad but also give the wrong name of the game....no doubt ubi soft is really pushing for the jackass award of the year.
Posted: Apr 19th 2010 1:13PM Hunter141072 said
Temidien:
1...and your point is????
2- true, but what i did was a mistake while i was typing, they hired a whole company and very likely paid millions to get the same kind of mistake, at least mine was free.
3- and UBISOFT ( see i got it right this time) was so intelligent that they didn´t asked what the company was planning?? i mean usually you check what the company that is working for you is going to do with your product, so either they didn´t care and let them go with anything (HIGHLY UNLIKELY) or they said: cool!!! that sounds awesome!!! either way they were jackasses....
Reply
1...and your point is????
2- true, but what i did was a mistake while i was typing, they hired a whole company and very likely paid millions to get the same kind of mistake, at least mine was free.
3- and UBISOFT ( see i got it right this time) was so intelligent that they didn´t asked what the company was planning?? i mean usually you check what the company that is working for you is going to do with your product, so either they didn´t care and let them go with anything (HIGHLY UNLIKELY) or they said: cool!!! that sounds awesome!!! either way they were jackasses....
Posted: Apr 19th 2010 11:55AM Spike Spiegel Humble Bounty Hun said
Now THAT'S marketing!
Posted: Apr 19th 2010 11:58AM JamesHks said
and the award for idiot of the decade goes too.
Posted: Apr 19th 2010 12:00PM Shagittarius said
They actually wanted to send armed men to each gamers house to make sure he hadn't pirated the game. They settled for sending this "message" instead.
Posted: Apr 19th 2010 12:39PM (Unverified) said
Wow it failed and worked at the same time! I mean the stunt was overboard but it's effective at attracting attention.
Posted: Apr 19th 2010 1:37PM Crayola Q Pants ESQ said
"The company responsible for the stunt, The Monaco Corporation, claims it hired another marketing company to organize the promotion and didn't know a gun would be used. "
Seems to me that The Monaco Corporation are claiming that they hired some kind of splinter cell for this marketing? And to top it off the hired company got away with a warning??
Looks like this is one splinter cell that should have got...
*puts on sunglasses*
... a conviction
Seems to me that The Monaco Corporation are claiming that they hired some kind of splinter cell for this marketing? And to top it off the hired company got away with a warning??
Looks like this is one splinter cell that should have got...
*puts on sunglasses*
... a conviction
Posted: Apr 19th 2010 3:24PM SirUrza said
Some of these comments deserve a Jean-Luk Picard face palm.
Posted: Apr 20th 2010 4:41AM usualyksint said
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Posted: Apr 19th 2010 4:04PM JoshMilewski said
How could they have not seen this coming...
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