It's ok to dream right?

One day, I'm going to be "Man of the Year".

Or better yet, maybe "Most Influential Person of the Decade."

Yes, that has a nice ring to it.

Until then, I'll settle for "Word of the Day"

Dictionary.com's Word of the Day for October 20, 2006:

"Ken"

My guilty pleasure

Lately, I've been engrossed, I mean seriously en-freak'n-grossed with Loco Roco. It's abnormal, it's not healthy and I need help! Someone help me? I mean, I tried hiding the PSP but then that one time when my buddies and I were settling in to watch some football...well, what do you say when someone feels something under the couch and pulls out a PSP with Loco Roco? I'll tell you what you say. You say nothing, that's what. You deny, you lie to their face.

"Yeah dude, that probably came with the couch. Ok maybe it's mine but I'm not like enjoying it... Yeah right, I don't sing along."

Ok, you and I both know it didn't come with the couch. I had to lie, if they knew, they'd take it away. I'm not denying it anymore though. Yes, I bought it. (Wow, this admitting problems stuff is hard) I made a conscious decision and acted upon it. I take full responsibility.

In fact, I ordered it off Amazon with shaky excited hands. When the box came, I ripped that sucker open so fast, you'd think it was Kiera's bra or something. Why the excitement?

That song. I had to have that song. The song and I are meant to be together. We were MADE to be together. I'll share the song with you but you have to give it back k?



It wasn't like love at first sight. (Cuz you can't see a song silly) But there was something about the song, something in the way it made me move. You know, it was foreign in that Angelina way but familiar and safe, in that Scarlett way? You know?! Anyways, first heard it on its MySpace page. MySpace, Ha! I guess that should have been my first warning sign this wouldn't be a healthy relationship. What can I say, sometimes you do things even if you know it's wrong.

Don't worry, I'm better now than the early days. I tried quitting cold turkey but then the pacing, the rocking, the night sweats... they were too much. I had to go back but I'm pretty sure I'm only singing the song now when I'm awake. Yeah, pretty sure.

Look, I'm not crazy k? I think the song is some weird mind control chant or something. It keeps sucking me in, sucking me in, sucking me in. I really don't know what to do. Last night, I filled up 20 yellow water balloons and slept in the tub with them. I know, that's not right.

Seriously, help!

Splish Splash

Just to close the loop on a post I did a while back...

Sony's new Bravia ad is up. Meh. Nothing you haven't seen Letterman throw off a roof.

The behind is scenes clip is pretty interesting though.

Time to Dance!

Acclaim Games announced its fourth title: Dance!

A MMO dancing game. Get your leg warmers on cuz you know you want some of that.

(And yup, it's been a record breaking 5 post day.)

Grenade, grenade, stun gun, facial cleanser, grenade...

Nivea and Phillips Norelco (makers of skincare and shaving stuff) have partnered with Ubisoft to do an integrated campaign within Splinter Cell 6: Double Agent. Some things to look forward to:

• In-game rendered products placed in game world bathroom
• Marketing billboards with lines like "The 'Good Guy' almost never has a beard."
• Ad insert in the retail packaging
  

And my favorite, I kid you not:

"The company also bought a print ad in the game's strategy guide published by Prima. The creative features a bottle of after shave made to look like a hand grenade with the message 'Balms away.'"

OMFGBBQWWJDASAP401K!!

No, this has got to be a joke right? C'mon, someone tell me it's a joke. You know, when I think about male skincare products, I totally think about Sam Fisher. That's Sam on the right there. Yup, he'll never leave home without all his "products". You think that fabulous looking unibrow just naturally falls into that style in the morning?

Ok, seriously, what's going on here? Why do I have that sinking feeling that in-game advertising is about to get sucker punched? Maybe it won't be that bad. Maybe an account exec never said, "Can we add a shaving scene? Can we let the player choose clean or scruffy Sam Fisher? Can we fit our fragrance line in here somewhere?"

Oh boy, this is gonna be a fun one to watch.

via Clickz

Real Beauty Viral

Just doing my part in spreading the viral love...

Watch this girl go from cute to mutant gorgeous. Brought to you by anti-marketing marketers in their latest marketing campaign.

Ultimate Ghosts N' Goblins from Capcom!

Recently, I was invited to review Ultimate Ghosts N' Goblins from Capcom. I've played the game for a week and a half now and quite frankly, I'm loving it. Now before you think I've sold out and will throw a good review on anyone that sends me a free game, let me refer you to the Branded Newb archive: My GameTap post on 3/30/06:

The new TV offering consists of 5 original channels and over 250 on demand video clips. My favorite part of the press release: Capcom adds Ghouls and Ghosts to the GameTap lineup. [image included]

So you see, I'm a fan of the series. Back in the day, I couldn't get enough of the original. Maybe it was some subconscious knight in shining armor aspirations or maybe it was a much deeper dude in boxers throwing lances thing. Who knows, don't judge me! Needless to say, I was kinda excited about playing the updated version.

For me, the new PSP version didn't disappoint. Now I have to caveat this by saying that I would probably never want to play this on a console, my expectations of console games is pure current-gen old-school free. However, as the device gets smaller, so does my expectations (it's why I love bubble breaker on my cell). Ultimate Ghosts N' Goblins is a great handheld title because it's fast paced, you can play in short bursts and there's not a single thing to read, it's all eye candy goodness.

First the pro's: Visually, it looks great. All the levels have a unique look and feel with appropriately unique environmental obstacles. You definitely don't get bored the first time through (more on this later).

The controls are classic so there's a learning curve to become twitch proficient but I kinda like that they're simple. I get self-conscious when I'm contorting myself wildly in public.

The gameplay is a basic sidescroller "get through without getting smacked" affair. This lends itself to a satisfyingly fast-paced experience. What's interesting about this version is that they've put in a bunch of auxillary goals. I find myself spending more time trying to explore the whole level rather than bashing through it. Must find more chests!

The con's: You can't beat the game by just getting to the end. The game requires you to play through until you've successfully mastered each level (that is, picked up all the gold rings scattered about). Since there are only 5 levels, you find yourself getting major deja vu... like staring at the menu at Taco Bell. This can get rather frustrating since there are certain levels you don't want to redo... Level 2-2, I will OWN you!

The bosses don't mean much. I don't know about you but I kinda like boss levels in general. They're a nice conclusion to a level and when you beat a tough boss, you get that great sense of accomplishment. I don't get that sense here. The bosses are fairly easy, have easy to hit sweet spots and are pretty cheap with the loot. I like loot, give me more loot.

The game has its fair share of jumping obstacles and if you're like me, you rack up the falling deaths. To stay sane, I found myself using the flying shield item all the time. Now this gets fairly annoying since the shield goes away after a while, causing you to have to warp to another level just to get more. I didn't like how it made me feel to be a flying shield addict. I'm just a "social" flying shielder, seriously.

Overall, you can expect to have a pretty good time. It's not going to win any game of the year awards or break any new ground in terms of innovation but it's a good staple to have in the library.

Role reversal in game marketing

A few weeks ago, I got an interesting email:

Hi,
I just found your blog entry on Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Essentials for PSP:
[url to BN post] and I think you may be of some help to me. I'm reaching out to you on behalf of M80 & Capcom regarding Ultimate Ghosts N Goblins for PSP. Since you blogged about Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Essentials for PSP, I thought that you might be interested in posting the press release or a review of the game on your blog? You seem like a reputable influencer, so I think you'd be a big help to us. For your help or review, I'd be happy to send you a copy of Ultimate Ghosts N Goblins for PSP.

So I replied:

Hi,

Thanks for the offer. I'd be happy to review the game; however, given that the topic of my blog is also about interactive marketing, I'd have to be upfront about this conversation and engagement with M80. If that is acceptable, feel free to send a copy of the game to: [my address, which you don't get to see, cuz you might do weird stalky stuff to me].

They reply with:

Thanks for your reply! It's wonderful if you post about this conversation and are transparent about your involvement with M80. I'm interested to see what you have to say about the process.

Fast forward about a week and a little brown paper package comes in the mail: free Ultimate Ghosts and Goblins from Capcom! You know, what tickles me the most about this is not the free Ultimate Ghosts and Goblins from Capcom. It's the role reversal of me going from game marketer to being marketed to as an influencer. Ahh, so this is how it feels on this side. It's kinda nice.

I was familiar with M80 before this email. In fact, I had thought about approaching them for some non-game clients. They're not a typical ad agency, rather they're experts at the word of mouth/viral marketing tactics that are so popular nowadays. What's very impressive to me was their eagerness for me to be transparent about the whole thing.

I don't like the covert stuff, you know, the stuff where people go and post on message boards like they're just a part of the community? This is something else entirely. This is inviting people that you think are vocal in the community to talk about your product. I like it, mainly because it's risky as hell. You have no idea if everyone you just sent Ultimate Ghosts and Goblins from Capcom to will end up hating it. But of course... if they love it, you get a major payoff in great word of mouth.

What did I think of the game? Stay tuned for the review post of... Ultimate Ghost and Goblins from Capcom!

Look at me, I'm altruistic!

Being charitable is tough. I mean, I really want to give to a good cause but what I do I get out of it? You can't lose weight with a donation to the Red Cross, you can't go to a party with a gift to the National Children's Cancer Society, Unicef doesn't help make your clothes smell better and the ONE campaign makes a terrible turkey sandwich. On top of all that, when I do donate to charity, no one knows, so I can't even walk around basking in that "I donated blood" aura of goodness. Seriously, what has charity done for me lately? Know what I'm saying?

Well, I found something just for me. The (Red) campaign, brought to you by Bono and friends. Partnered with big global brands like Motorola, American Express, Gap, and Apple, this campaign is so freak'n perfect. Ok, here's how it works. You buy something red (no really, all the stuff is red) and part of your purchase goes to charity. Simple huh? The best part? You get a great product and trust me, no one can miss you in a crowd. "Woo, look at that charitable soul at the bar" they'll say.

Seriously, I'm so glad this came along, my Be Strong bracelet was getting a little funk around the edges.

The time value of money

We're right smack in the middle of the console release frenzy. Just search Ebay for PS3 or Wii and you get a sense of how desirable it is for some people to get these consoles right away or before anyone else on the block. Based on bids made, it's looking like people will pay about a hundred bucks above retail for the Wii and two to three times the price for the PS3! Obviously, there's a monetary value associated with getting something now instead of days or weeks later.

All this got me thinking. Why doesn't Sony or Nintendo actually do something interesting with this phenomenon? They could release some limited edition consoles at an early date and charge a lot more for them. Release 1,000 consoles a few weeks earlier than the public release. Put the consoles up for auction with people bidding on the first to hundredth. There's no doubt in my mind that there'll be a wild response to it.

Now before you stop reading in disgust, this is not a suggestion for them to make more money. I actually think this would be a really cool way to make some money for charity. With 1,000 consoles and the possibility of people paying $1,000 more than retail for each, that's a cool million they could give to charity. They don't come out of it empty handed since they get a great PR story.

Just an idea.

Manufactured by Nissan

In a new campaign for the Sentra, Nissan gets a guy to live in his car for 7 days. The campaign is inspiringly called, "7 days in a Sentra".

(For full disclosure purposes, I'm currently consulting for the ad agency that created this campaign though I didn't work on this particular campaign.)

The campaign includes a blog as well as some other online elements. The trades have covered it and it's already gotten some bad reviews from bloggers. Overall, I think the main criticism is that this feels contrived and forced, like your grandfather sporting a threadless t-shirt at the family reunion. At first, I would agree. This stinks of corporate America tredding on the territory of quirky stunts usually done by kids with too much time on their hands (Mascot Roommate for Coffee Bean is another example). There's a sense of disingenuousness in the air, begging the question of "Well how hard is it to live in a car for 7 days if you have an entire company behind you?"

And then I started thinking about it. The language of marketing has changed. Consumers shrug off phrases like, "More horsepower than...", "Class leading legroom", or "Oh what a feeling...". You can't simply force feed your brand messages down their throats. You have to engage consumers with something interesting, something entertaining.

Yes, I think this campaign is contrived but that's exactly what it's meant to be, something artificially created to start a conversation with the consumer. If I were shopping for a Sentra and if I were given the choice of watching a boring video of the interior or this... well, I rather watch this. I rather be entertained or at least challenged/given the option to be entertained than given the same boring spiel. Sure, I know the guy probably had it easy for 7 days but I'm not taking it too seriously. I'm suspending disbelief and going along for the experience, like watching 24.

I like this idea. Like the Honda Element & Friends campaign (the crab that says, "I pinch"), this shifts the way car companies talk about their products and doesn't just toss marketing one liners at you.

Scouting for better thumbs

Tom Taylor, all of 18, dropped out of high school and joined a professional video game league. He's pulling in $250,000 and has product endorsements as well as a "game tutoring business". He says, "I feel like I was born to play video games." Nice job Tom, don't get caught up in the drugs, women and gambling.

Well, this AP story dropped yesterday and was widely picked up by newspapers across the country. This story has, therefore, been deemed to be newsworthy... but why? Is it because a young man is pursuing his dreams? Perhaps it's the amount of money he's making at such a young age?

Let's face it, this story is all about video games and the general perception that the value in playing games is the physical and mental equivalent of Cheetos for Thanksgiving dinner. You could do it and it'd be fun but you're not going to be proud of it. In our society, games are to be outgrown, to gather dust like your old skateboard and replaced in your mind with things like FICA and PPO. If you're passionate about games, you're always tempering your enthusiasm because "they" wouldn't understand.

I hate it. I hate reading stories like this because stories like this perpetuate society's code of conduct. This story reads like a warning label for parents: there's a game league out there looking for your kid, let your kid play video games and he may just make a career out of it. Am I misrepresenting it? Probably but let's assume I'm right.

This needs to change and quite frankly, I don't think it's a content issue. It's not because games are violent or superficial or made for men. If that were the case, we'd have to demote all sports, movies or current books as well. No, what we have here is an image problem. We need to change the look of gamers. Socially inept teenage guys, thank you for your service, we'll take it from here.

So who do we want to represent the industry? What about me? I'm 30. I'm a professional with a master's degree and comfortably middle class. I have a robust appreciation and an above-average consumption of the cultural arts and fine things. When I'm not working, I have a social life. Am I what we need to be the face of gamers? Oh heck no, I'm too dorky looking but you get the point.

I guess what I'm trying to say to my marketing brothers and sisters is that we need to shift the imagery around. Use the guys from the SUV ads, not the Mountain Dew ads. Hey, you know the couch shot, the one from the TV's perspective? Yeah, that one. How about you add some art on the walls and some imported beer on the coffee table? And you know that X Games sponsorship? Drop it, no one pays attention anyways.

Finally, you know that high school dropout that you just sponsored? Yeah, bad idea.

via ABC News