Harmonix Rocks Out With Green Day

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The music gaming genre trailed off dramatically in 2009, but games like The Beatles Rock Band still performed well, cashing in on the incredible brand of the Fab Four. Green Day doesn’t rank anywhere close to The Beatles, but in the era of modern rock, they’re certainly near the top. MTV and Harmonix believe they can leverage the Green Day name with the upcoming game (shipping June 8). As you can see from the trailer below, Harmonix is giving Green Day the same special care it gave The Beatles in terms of representing the band members and the vibe of their concerts.

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Tiger Ad Generates Hundreds Of Spoofs

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While the Tiger Woods Nike ad spot featuring the voiceover of the golfer’s late father wasn’t well received in some circles, perhaps that’s what Nike actually intended. By making such an “out there” commercial, the company knew the ad would be immediately spoofed in all sorts of videos across the web, leading to extra viral marketing buzz. According to Visible Measures, the ad has prompted the creation of more than 100 spoofs, and these parody clips have attracted more than 7.1 million views and 15,000 comments. Mashable has a collection of some of the top Tiger ad spoofs.

Here’s one we like:

Skate Through The Hall Of Meat

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While Activision continues to struggle with its Tony Hawk brand following the somewhat disappointing Tony Hawk: RIDE, rival Electronic Arts has been faring quite well in the skateboard genre with its Skate franchise. Humor is certainly one good way to help sell a product, and this latest trailer for Skate 3 (which ships next month) shows off the funny rag-doll physics of the characters in the “Hall of Meat” challenges. It’s somewhat reminiscent of the PlayStation Network game Pain. Check out the video below.

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Hype Builds For Prince Of Persia Movie

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While Ubisoft continues to build buzz for Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands (which ships on May 18), Jerry Bruckheimer and Disney are also ramping up promotional efforts for The Sands of Time movie based on the game franchise. The movie debuts just 10 days after the game. Disney has released three new videos, diving into behind-the-scenes content, like adapting the game’s story for film and so on. The videos (see below, courtesy of GameVideos) definitely should get movie goers and gamers excited about the film.

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Modern Warfare 2 Gets Family Guy Treatment

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Activision Blizzard’s Modern Warfare 2 has already exceeded $1 billion in sales and is one of the biggest brands in gaming, so it’s not like it needs any more exposure, but a recent episode of Family Guy gave it just that – and it was a good promotional spot for the Xbox too. The episode clip below shows Peter Griffin playing horribly as a total “noob” while other players badmouth his lack of skill. Microsoft and Activision must love this attention. It reminds us of how World of Warcraft was parodied on South Park and The Colbert Report; you know your brand has become absolutely huge when pop culture entertainment latches on. It makes a brand marketer’s job far easier.

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THQ Steps Into The Octagon

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THQ’s UFC Undisputed 2009 was one of the publisher’s top performing titles last year (3.5 million shipped), in no small part thanks to the great campaign the company put together (as noted by IndustryGamers) {link no longer active}. Now UFC Undisputed 2010 is a little more than a month away (May 25) and THQ is ramping up its promotional efforts. This new trailer featuring undefeated fighter Cain Velasquez does a great job of showing off the high-octane action of the mixed martial arts sport and blending it with real in-game footage.

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F.E.A.R. Reborn In New Trailer

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We recently brought you first word on the announcement for F.E.A.R. 3 and how WB Games is wisely leveraging John Carpenter’s expertise and horror brand to boost the game’s profile. Now the first teaser trailer for the game has been released. Put together by Ayzenberg (the folks who publish this newsletter you’re reading now), the video perfectly sets the mood for the horror vibe that the F.E.A.R. franchise is establishing. Occasional in-game clips are interwoven with scary live-action scenes. Check it out below, courtesy of GameTrailers.

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Saw 2 Not For The Squeamish

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Warner Bros’ F.E.A.R. 3 isn’t the only horror video game announced this week. Konami has unveiled Saw 2, another game based on the popular Saw horror film franchise. While the movie series seems to have jumped the shark a while ago already, Konami is hopeful it can still leverage the property. The game sequel is set between the second and third movie, and is slated to launch this fall. This newly released trailer certainly gets the blood flowing… literally. If you don’t want to see someone’s eyelid cut open with a blade, then don’t watch the video below (courtesy of GameVideos).

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The Best ‘Get A Mac’ Ads

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Last week we brought you word that Apple’s acclaimed “Get a Mac” campaign featuring Justin Long and John Hodgeman may be coming to an end. The campaign, which Adweek labeled as one of the best of the decade, has had many memorable moments. The folks at Mashable decided to select their top 10 “Get a Mac” spots. You can also check out Adweek s retrospective, which features all 66 commercials in the campaign, organized chronologically. We’d like to see more video game marketers inject some humor into their campaigns. It’s probably one of the reasons that Sony’s Kevin Butler ad spots have been so successful – people enjoy lighthearted humor.

Here’s one of our favorites, featuring the hilarious Mr. Bean:

Rush ‘N Attack Making A Comeback

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Ask any hardcore gamer today what some of their favorite old-school classics are, and there’s a good chance you’ll be told Rush ‘N Attack. Konami is looking to revitalize the old arcade and NES IP as a digital download for Xbox Live and PlayStation Network. The debut trailer below (courtesy of GameVideos) reveals a game very reminiscent of Chair Entertainment’s Shadow Complex, which was a major Xbox Live hit. It’s clear that Konami is hoping to market the game to the older hardcore audience with nostalgia for the property as well as younger gamers who just want a great downloadable action title.

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