10 Worst Video Game Marketing Campaigns Ever
2. Scattering "Zombie" Body Parts Around A Major City - Resident Evil 5
For the launch of Resident Evil 5, Monument PR created a zombie-oriented scavenger hunt, where the winner would be rewarded with a trip to Africa. For the contest, participants had to find props, which resembled human body parts, in a specific section of London.
Even though these "limbs" were from a mannequin, they looked convincing, since they were drenched in blood and pieces of chicken liver.
Now, you might be wondering, "Couldn't the props be mistaken for real dismembered limbs?"
Yes. That's exactly what happened.
Several people, who were oblivious of the scavenger hunt, stumbled upon these disembodied appendages, which urged them to call the police. Participants asked random people on the street if they had seen "dead body parts", which scared the hell out of them and probably convinced them there was a serial killer on the loose!
What's worse is that several props, including a head, two torsos, and half a dozen limbs weren't accounted for by the time the scavenger hunt wrapped up! For all we know, some poor sod is going to stumble upon these disembodied limbs tomorrow and get the fright of their life!
In hindsight, it's obvious the scavenger hunt is the dumbest thing to come out of Resident Evil 5 (apart from the sequence where Chris Redfield punches a boulder).