PR Stunt
Latest
Capcom feeding the UK to itself to promote Resident Evil 6
Tomorrow, Capcom will open human butchery Wesker & Son in London to promote Resident Evil 6, allowing patrons throughout the weekend the chance to "sample and purchase a dizzying array of edible human limbs including hands, feet and a human head." Of course, this isn't real human meat – it's animal meat dressed up and labeled as human meat.All proceeds from the sale of these items made to look like human limbs will go to the Limbless Association, a non-profit that aids those who have lost their limbs in dealing with the trauma and finding careers. There will also be drinks available, examples of which include the served-in-a-specimen-bag "Stool Sample" and "Puss." Yup, puss. Capcom will also hold a pair of lectures on the themes present in Resident Evil 6 and their ties to the real world at St. Bartholomew's Hospital Pathology Museum in case drinking puss isn't your cup of puss.Capcom employed a similar PR stunt for Resident Evil 5 that ended up going over ... less than well. At least this time the faux body parts will be isolated to the inside of one building and not strewn about in public, though that doesn't make us any more enthused to see someone gnawing on what looks like a human hand.
World demands justice for Galaxy Nexus owner who 'beat' Windows Phone
Now here's a little righteous indignation to liven up your Monday. It's the sorry and admittedly one-sided tale of Galaxy Nexus-owner Sahas Katta, who claims he beat a "Get Smoked" Windows Phone challenge at a Microsoft store yesterday, but was denied his prize. To win a $1,000 laptop, he simply had to complete a task on his personal phone quicker than a store employee who was using a Windows Phone. It so happened that the task chosen for Sahas's contest suited him perfectly: he was told to cold boot and then bring up the weather in two different cities, and by a stroke of luck he already had two separate weather widgets for San Jose, CA and Berkeley, CA running on his Nexus' home screen. He also had his lock screen disabled, which goes against Google's own security advice but which he says gave him the "split second" edge he needed. The principle of justice, meanwhile, was smothered with lock screens, because Sahas was promptly informed that he'd just been "smoked" by a Windows Phone, even though he'd been quicker. At first he was told that the Windows Phone won because it "displays the weather right there," then he was told it was because both his cities were "in the same state," and finally he just gave up. A Microsoft insider has since tweeted that he'll "make it right" for Sahas, but will it be the kind of right that includes a $1,000 laptop?Update: Looks like the gent got an apology, a laptop and a phone out of the deal. And suddenly, all was well in the world.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in.]
HTC invades Belgian train stations with miniature Android army
The master of bizarre marketing ploys, HTC, has employed a more militant approach to its latest PR stunt. In a move apparently aimed at promoting the launch of a bunch of new Android phones (specifically the Flyer, Sensation, Incredible S, Desire S, and Wildfire S), the outfit meticulously filled railway stations in Antwerp, Brussels, and Namur with varied configurations of the little green monsters. While the stunt's grabbed our attention, we're happy the bantam buggers weren't there to greet us at the outset of our morning commute. More pictures await you at the source link below.
Padded lampposts in London not really being tested
We had a sneaking suspicion that the world hadn't really come to strapping pads around lampposts in order to keep walking texters safe, and sure enough, the whole shebang was more of a stunt and less of a bona fide trial. Reportedly, only a few pads were put in place and photographed for around 36 hours -- afterwards, the PR firm responsible for putting them up simply took them back down. It seems as if the scheme was meant to "test out [the idea] and gauge people's opinions," according to a 118 118 spokesman, and safe to say it certainly accomplished that. [Via textually]
