Jon Radoff’s Entrepreneur 2.0 Blog

While riding the T to work this morning, I noticed this advertisement on the Red Line:

Vecna Medical? Sorry, but keep your risky necromantic procedures to yourself. It is extremely well documented that the Eye of Vecna and Hand of Vecna are extremely dangerous and risky. I’m sure that some people would be willing to amputate their own limbs and replace them with otherworldly artifacts of incredible power yet dubious origin, but I won’t be one of them. Consider yourself warned.

I guess there were no Dungeons and Dragons players amongst the branding committee for this company.

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In another example of how videogames have already become a part of mainstream media, there’s a new media campaign that ties together 7-Eleven (the chain convenience store that’s well-known for its “Slurpee” drink) along with Coca-Cola.

According to the original press release, 7-Eleven wants to associate with Guitar Hero to keep Slurpees “cool”–a clever pun, but also a real challenge that’s facing many aging consumer brands.

The key question is whether game tie-ins like this will help up the coolness-factor for a brand like Slurpee, while also keeping games true to their spirit and mission.  The opportunity is to build new revenue streams, but the risk is that games might get perceived as just another glitzy way to promote a product. I think it’s definitely possible to craft win-wins, so I’ll be watching this campaign closely.

Another potential opportunity: beyond making Slurpees cool, will this result in any extra sales of Guitar Hero?

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