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Burger King's Disturbing Games
Gamespot reports on Burger King's disturbing foray into gaming. From the article: "Finally, Sneak King takes the stealth action genre and puts it to a friendlier use than usual. Instead of tiptoeing behind enemy guards to silently snap their necks, players will sneak up on hungry people to surprise them with offerings of Burger King food. Gamers will have to sneak up on people in a logging yard, a construction site, downtown, and the suburbs, and they will be graded on their performance 'based on how elaborate the delivery is executed.' This is not the King's first visit to the world of gaming. The genuinely off-putting monarch of meat appeared in Electronic Arts' Fight Night Round 3 as an unlockable manager character to accompany your boxer to the ring. " Some screenshots will assist you in understanding how deeply distressing these games are.
Sneaking up on someone and giving them food. How disturbing. Now if you excuse me I have to finish beating this hooker to death with a bat. Thank God GTA doesn't have any questionable material like giving food to hungry people.
360 users can get new pop-cap, low-end games (and some pretty good ones, too) for free or pay $4 for full versions on Live. These games, however, aren't good enough to give BK three Michellin stars ('worth a special trip') - they should give the games for free on XBL Marketplace to boost brand.
Once again Burger King's ad agency has drummed up publicity by getting the media (including the non-mainstream independent therefore more trustworthy blogomedianetsphere dot org) talking about Burger King. The number of people who will boycott BK forever is vastly outnumbered by the number of people who are more aware of BK. Kudos to them.
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I had the misfortune of playing Rainbow Six: Lockdown on the PC. A third of the walls in the game were covered in advertising. And it was the same ad! First it was the DVD release of Silent Hill and then it was an Audi ad. But it would be the same ad for the entire level, you would literally see it 50 times.
Make all of the Burger King, Goldman Sachs or Astroglide games you want. Just keep the advertising out of the regular games!
What the hell does the submitter have against Burger King?
Look, it can't be any scarier than the subservient chicken. Yeesh. If I drink enough and leave a light on, I can almost sleep through the night. http://www.subservientchicken.com/
This game just cries out for mods.
Wouldn't BK just be the darling of the media if there was a "Hot Coffee" type of mod, allowing the "King" to deliver his own special meat and dipping sauce to his chosen "Queen".
A "Godfather" mod could have a dark-suited, Sicilian King making you a Meal Deal you Can't Refuse.
A "GTA" mod could have the possibility of someone popping a cap in his ass when he jumps out with food.
The possibilities (for lawsuits) are endless!
Learning HOW to think is more important than learning WHAT to think.
Surprising people with free food can land you in court.
The King commercials are a corny kind of funny that is different from the mainstream (mostly lame) humor that is always showing on TV. A king in full rainment doing the craziest stuff - from slapping steelworkers 60 stories up to sacking quaterbacks to cruising down the highway picking up the ladies (I swear, I watch 1 TV show a week and 1 football game ... I must be the target demographic) ... the commercials are offbeat funny, in a Napolean Dynamite or Kung Pow kinda way. Coveted 18-34 male demographic. Guess they can't get all of 'em.
... the two major causes of obesity together at last.
To each his own. I'm a 18-35 male and I don't watch TV -- I don't own one, and don't want one. Somehow I managed to see these ads, probably at a friend's house. But it's stuff like this that drove me away from TV. They're just aiming for the larger-than-you-think demographic of people who like to think they're above the fray because they appreciate campy, off-beat commercials. These ads are just as lame as all the rest, but they have no point and somehow people think that makes them clever.
I'm waiting for the Hot Dog patch.
I'm surprised that no-one has drawn the comparison with the Ninja Burger card game yet.
I don't know whether the points are actually worth anything, but I fear you are greatly overestimating humanity.
...or at least their ad agency does. The running theme in all their PR material is "we don't take ourselves seriously." The King's vacuum-formed head. The Whopperettes. The tray liners which currently have NFL-like referee calls for various dining-related fouls. The Subservient Chicken. None of these try to be real; they are all laughably NOT real.
McDonald's could instantly get a lot more street cred if they did the same thing with Mayor McCheese. Or had a big "What in God's Name is Grimace?" campaign. Or had the Hamburgler hanging out with mafiosi, committing white-collar crimes or something. Except now they'd just be copying BK. And really, they take themselves too seriously anyway.
Good grief, it's after midnight and I'm posting on slashdot about fast food advertising. I think I'm going to go to bed.
Sam! If you will let me be,
I will try them.
You will see.
Where the fuck is Jack Thompson when you need him!?
Now there's going to be a rash of gang-like violence perpetuated by teens lobbing fucking big-macs at eachother...
Oh god, that woman is John Romero!