Monster Gets Your Foot in the Door With Game

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Monster has launched a mildly amusing time-waster called Foot in the Door, a game in which you hurl feet at potential co-workers as they open their office doors. While the game is fun, we're not sure throwing feet at potential co-workers will garner you much respect if you do happen to get hired. Now, throwing feet at co-workers you already work with...that's another story.

by Steve Hall    Oct-24-06    
Topic: Games, Online



Game Helps Elmo Go Potty

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If your sick of that long-winded account director blathering on endlessly in a pointless meeting about a client's brand vision, mission, essence and position, you might have a little fun sending them a link to Elmo's Potty Time, an Animax Entertainment-created game that, well, teaches people when it's time to stop what you're doing and take a break. Unfortunately when we played the game, we couldn't help Elmo out. See, in one scenario, Elmo is jump roping and he stops to say he needs to go to the bathroom and you're supposed to click any key to help him go. Trouble s, no key worked so the poor guy kept asking until the game let him go by himself. We'd sure like to see the version of that game where you can hold Elmo hostage until explodes all over his friends. Now, that would be funny.

by Steve Hall    Oct-24-06    
Topic: Games, Good, Online



'Truth' Campaign Back In Business With Fact-Based Scare Tactics

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The American Legacy Foundation, fresh out of its legal battles with the tobacco industry and in partnership with Arnold Worldwide, and Crispin Porter + Bogusky, has launched a new campaign entitled Infect Truth. The campaign consists of TV spots - airing on MTV, Comedy Central, G4 Tech TV, BET and others - and print as well as a host of digital elements including "Infections" in the form of screensavers, video, desktop themes, games and stickers all filled with juicy facts such as cigarettes containing sodium hydroxide, the same ingredient found in hair removal products. An email widget also allows people to send message written in back hair.

more »

by Steve Hall    Oct-23-06    
Topic: Cable, Campaigns, Commercials, Games, Good, Online, Television



Gamers Not Happy With Game Maker's User License

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Now that Electronic Artists has more fully integrated advertising into its games, it has sent out a new End User License Agreement and Adrants reader Dario Meli tells us most aren't happy with it pointing to an ars tchnica gaming forum. In the forum, most are displeased with EA's collection of user information (though anonymous) but more so with the company's perceived double dipping. Forum members think it's unfair for EA to collect ad revenue without using it to offset the cost of games as is usually the case in other media.

We're sure everyone's just beginning to learn here and that most of these seemingly illogical practices will be weeded out as the marketplace matures. Though, for now, EA has a few gamers up in arms over its integration of advertising into its games.

by Steve Hall    Oct-19-06    
Topic: Games, Policy, Trends and Culture



Sports Marketplace Gets Mortal Combat-Like Game Promotion

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To promote the launch of online sports marketplace, Protrade, Pod Digital Design created Mascot Kombat, a fighting game parody of Mortal Kombat, where team mascots duke it out on a football field, basketball court as well as tailgate party, bleed team colors, and face the ultimate humiliation of having their helmets removed and true geek identities revealed. It's not an easy game to play which simply means it's a great game because we suck

by Steve Hall    Oct-11-06    
Topic: Games, Good



Marriott Spring Hill Suites Wants Bad Dancers

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Marriott Spring Hill Suites has chosen to highlight the Seinfeldian Elaine-like dancing abilities out there with More Room to Move, a dance-o-matic game thingy that somehow aligns bad footwork with the need for bigger hotel rooms. Cheese at its finest.

by Steve Hall    Oct-10-06    
Topic: Games, Online, Strange



Pepsi Zero A Nonenitity, Wind Does Blow, Sky Bursts

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- It seems Pepsi can't quite come to terms with the fact Zero is a nonentity and, in fact, would like us to refer to its product as a nonenitity.

- Yea, yea, yea. Pamela Anderson is in a Virgin Mobile commercial with veiled references to what...penis size? Yawn.

- Nissan's 7 Days in A Sentra bombs according to some.

- Western Wind Energy, which we earlier mentioned was hosting a viral video contest, is nearing completion. As expected, all the submisions suck as much as the original video did. But, hey, at least people are participating, right?

- While we're sure this new Candystand game called Life Savers Splosions Skyburts is a whole lot of fun, the need to install a plugin and confusing directions out us off. Then again, we never play online games so don't listen to us. Check it out for yourselves.

- Liquor advertisers don't like under aged girls as much as FHM readers do.

by Steve Hall    Oct-10-06    
Topic: Consumer Created, Games, Online, Outdoor



Burger King Launches Branded Xbox Games

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Collecting together its various personalities from Brooke Burke to Subservient Chicken to Whopper Jr. to the King himself, Burger King has launched three Xbox and Xbox360 games loaded with Burger King branding. One game is all about racing. Another involves sneaking up on hungry people to offer them Burger King food. The third involves a theme park bumper car ride.

by Steve Hall    Oct- 5-06    
Topic: Brands, Games, Good



Netflix Needs Help, Altoids Get Shot, Walkman Saves Ears

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- The Bay Area Interactive Group has launched its second season of its Big Sessions podcast with industry guru interviews.

- Netflix doesn't know how to improve its movie recommendation feature but it thinks there are people out there that can so the movie rental company is offering $1 million to anyone who can improve accuracy by 10 percent.

- Tokion's Fourth Annual Creativity Now Confernce will be talking place October 14 and 15 at Cooper Union in New York City.

- Here's a litte shoot the Altoids out of the sky timewaster for you.

- To promote the Sony Walkman (they still make that?) in Italy, Ebola Industries created a site, SaveYourEars, on which videos show people singing horribly out of tune in concert presumably to show using a Walkman will prevent youo from hearing this badness. We're not entirely sure since the site's in Italian.

by Steve Hall    Oct- 3-06    
Topic: Games, Online



OfficeMax TUL Pens Pull Mind Out of Gutter

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Rarely do we ever have the time or the inclination to sit through an entire segment of one of those online analyze whatever things marketers like to create to sell product. But, we did this time. Perhaps it was because our date last night was uneventful so we didn't have our usual hangover or have to make polite morning conversation with our less-pretty-than-she-was-last-night date. Perhaps it was because we didn't have to spend time with our new Remington Body Hair Trimmer in preparation for tonight's date who unceremoniously canceled after we asked her to arrive dressed up like a pleated plaid skirt-wearing private school girl. Or, perhaps it was because our favorite porn site was down preventing us from wasting hours slobbering over women we will never have.

Anyway, we found the time to spend with this DDB Chicago-created site for OfficeMax for its new line of TUL pens that offered up a handwriting analysis by graphologist Dr. Gerard Ackerman.So after we randomly selected answers to a six question survey about our writing style, we were presented with a step by step video analysis of our handwriting and an insight into our personality. While it may not have been the most stunningly entertaining thing we've ever seen, it did prove there are certainly other things in life than the aforementioned, less than respectable activities.

by Steve Hall    Oct- 1-06    
Topic: Games, Good, Online