10 Insane Marketing Stunts That Were Used To Sell Video Games
3. Free Petrol For Everyone! (Mercenaries 2)
Imagine the chaos that would ensue if petrol was made free for a limited time. Well, imagine no more, because that was the exact stunt EA pulled to promote open-world actioner Mercenaries 2: World In Flames.
The plot of the game finds players trying to murder the President of Venezuela, who has seized control of the nation's oil supply. To tie in with that story, EA concocted this oil-based marketing stunt, taking over a petrol station in north London and advertising a first come, first served giveaway amounting to around £20,000 worth of fuel.
The giveaway started at 6:30am but was shut down five hours later, with the free petrol causing dozens and dozens of cars to get caught in traffic jams in local streets. It was full-on gridlock, so the police intervened in an effort to clear up the roads and get things flowing again.
Still, plenty of happy commuters managed to nab a full tank for free, and the stunt caught the attention of the local media, before eventually going national. So in terms of getting more coverage for the game, it absolutely worked, despite the mayhem it caused.