Electronic Arts have brought the computer game 'Mercenaries 2:World in Flames' to the attention of a lot more people than they might have anticipated courtesy of a relatively cheap PR stunt in North London.
EA offered up to £40 worth of free petrol to 500 customers at the Last Stop garage in Finsbury Park, causing traffic chaos as commuters queued to take advantage of the offer, designed to emulate Venezuela, the game's setting, where fuel is used as a currency.
Police ordered the garage, whose staff were dressed in camouflage gear, to stop giving away petrol in order to pacify angry drivers and ease the congestion. They had managed to give away around £11,000 worth.
While there are obvious drawbacks to something like this, it has already appeared on a number of newspaper websites and blogs, and generated positive feeling among those who were successful in securing free fuel, while drawing typical scorn from a local MP. The company themselves have apologised for any inconvenience, but will privately be rubbing their hands at coverage for the game reaching further and wider than they could have hoped otherwise.
Here's some video footage of the carnage courtsey of the Telegraph.
UPDATE: And of course while I was bashing together my opinions on this, so war Nick Burcher, along with an improbably long photo of the snaking traffic.
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