Above is a promo clip for the new online game/ marketing tool “DEWmocracy.” Full movie showcasing the game can be found here.
The flash game comes from MountainDew, and I just can’t make this stuff up:
“Corporate Barons rule the city with an iron-fist, but a thirst for change is in the air. As a “Seeker,” you have the chance to return choice to the people. To do so you must embrace adventure, face your destiny, and help create the next Mountain Dew.
Starting November, 2007, you are invited on a mythic journey through interactive Chambers of adventure that, once entered, will let you vote on new features for the next Mountain Dew: flavor, color, name, logo, label and tag line.
To succeed, you will need all of your cunning and strength. Each Chamber is blocked by a Guardian and ruled by a Master, epic creatures of adventure and deception. There are enemies to fight, lessons to learn, and tools to earn – like a 2-sided battle axe or a coral divining rod to point the way. And there are points to be scored. The more points you win, the greater your fame in the fellowship of Seekers everywhere.
Upon your return to the city for a final showdown with the Authorities, the people will be set free to vote on which elixir shall pour across the land – the People’s Dew. Your destiny will become clear. Choice and creative freedom will become the rule. And the next Mountain Dew will become reality.”
We’ve covered a lot of the various players in the virtual world space, and although this is more 2D than Second Life it’s the first time I’ve seen anything quite like this. What in the world were they thinking? or is it just a marketing budget gone wild? There is one twist: the film and a good part of the game was produced by Academy Award Winning actor Forest Whitaker.
Screen shots as follows…the questions are even more bizarre than the overall concept.
The attack of the fizzy drinks!! What will they think up next, Forrest Whitaker? were you serious!!
- AJ
shill and corporate sell out comes to mind with Whitaker
Well perhaps the in-game challenges will efficiently separate the “hardcore” dew drinkers from the rest!
Your right. You just cannot make this stuff up.
promo clip is excellent, it is baed on youth life style
I think its funny that there trying to create some kind of client based control (user generated softdrinks?) but you cant control the timeline of the video on there site, even though it doesnt play that smoothly on my connection.
I dig the renegade skateboarding teenager tho, reminiscent of “back to the future”. Is it kinda retro kitsch?
Probably just a marketing budget on a rampage
The first question is trying to work out if you are a rogue, a rebel, or a rabbit!
in any group you would normally find the majority (say 80%) being rabbits, they will do as they are told and fall in line, perfect fodder for the corporate Illuminati.
The rogues make up about 10% and are of special interest as they will do anything to further their own gain, especially look the other way at injustice. they have a cuddle persona and like RED.
The rebels make up the last 10% and are the most feared by the corporate Illuminati. They don’t sellout, they hold the fort till the last, they like BLUE. Ice, angst, ire.
I should play this game…
elegance
good look with it 
that entire comment made my head hurt
Duncan Riley, I don’t know why. You might not get it, OK. It is a phanomon well understood by psychological annalists and used in understanding how people might react in a challenge. But if it makes your head hurt I cannot help feeling you are still bruised after the beating you took yesterday on the HD debate. Though you aptly have found a post from the New Scientist to comfort you, which is nice, now you will understand your dissenters ‘trolls as you imply’ better. That post was very ignorant, none of the following comments were in your favor, and a real man would have accpted that it is possible that you were actually wrong. No hard feelings, but you are in a position of power and I wonder why.
Coool! Don’t have time for gaming, though, so I’ll just buy the soft drink, which actually only costs 11 pesos here in the Philippines, about 25 US cents. Even I can afford that. So it really is the People’s Drink.
elegance
as I said on the other thread: you want to make it personal: that’s trolling, you want to have a reasoned debate, that’s a comment that adds
@9: Si tacuisses, philosophus mansisses.
I suspect I’m not the only one who now wants to play this game just to see how ludicrous it is, which makes this campaign a success.
Mmmm…. last I checked, Mountain Dew is OWNED by Pepsi… so basically a “greedy corporation” as defined by the commercial is advertising that using it’s products will lead towards democracy – fighting against the very “greedy corporation” that is the source of the product in question?
This entire “marketing” approach makes about as much sense as trying to get drunk by drinking a bottle of vodka using a blocked straw.
Jon
This web 2.0/user generated content/crowd sourcing thing is getting a little more interesting everyday. Now mountain dew is letting users create the next flavor? Fabulous idea! If this user generated/crowd sourcing mania has taught us anything, this flavor should be gold. I actually think it’s a great concept, I’m gonna try it out.
so bizarre about forrest whitaker for sure….
@ elegance my god man, you are quoting from the freaking COLOR CODE! ha ha, “You might not get it, OK. It is a phanomon well understood by psychological annalists and used in understanding how people might react in a challenge.”
Are you serious? Calm the hell down over there.
And darling, ps, its “analysts”
Definitely different from Dew’s other campaigns
Intel is also on the way with “Silicon Commander” interactive game for IT Professionals.
Fight your corporate masters, drink Mountain Dew?
Well, whatever you say, Pepsi Co.!
you gotta love these over the hill marketing guys who sit in big offices and say “what are the kids into these days? computer games right? hating corporations? customisation?” then some how manage to get budget approval for this shite!
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