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[ComputerMKII]

#IAmSorry if old

French games firm sorry after PR stunt bombs

French video game developer Ubisoft apologised "unreservedly" on Thursday after an Australian office was evacuated and a police bomb squad called out in a public relations stunt gone wrong.

Ubisoft, which was promoting its latest release "Watch Dogs", sent a copy of the game in a black safe to a Sydney reporter's office on Wednesday with a note telling them to check their voicemail.

But the reporter at digital media company Ninemsn, which does not review video games, did not have voicemail and the safe -- "of the type found in hotel rooms" -- started to beep when colleagues tried to open it, the firm said on its website.

New South Wales police were called to the central Sydney building and staff were sent home after the company found out other media organisations did not receive a similar package.

Officers forced open the safe in the basement of the building and found the "Watch Dogs" game inside. A police spokesman would not comment on the incident.

Ubisoft said the delivery "didn't go as planned" and it was taking steps to avoid similar stunts.

"We unreservedly apologise to Ninemsn's staff for the mistake and for any problems caused as a result," the company said in a statement.

"We will take additional precautions in the future to ensure this kind of situation doesn't happen again."

Ninemsn described the stunt as "ill-conceived", with editor-in-chief Hal Crawford adding that Ubisoft or its public relations agency "no doubt got carried away with their creativity".

http://www.thelocal.fr/20140529/french-games-firm-sorry-after-pr-stunt-bombs

 

[mikefizzled]

Haven't Ubisoft done a similar stupid PR stunt with a similar outcome for Splinter Cell? You would have thought they would have learnt something by now.

 

[reptilescorpio]

Sooooo the delivery guy took it to the wrong offices?

 

[DICKS AHOY]

Pretty sure Ninemsn does have a games section (though it's pretty barebones), but still seems like a poorly thought through PR stunt. What does a safe even have to do with a game about digital terrorism and hacking?

 

[Oersted]

Well, they got publicity. ..

 

[sakipon]

Are these kind of stunts even necessary? I understand doing public events and such but sending weird packages to some individual reviewers doesn't seem to have the same PR impact.

 

[Mugatu]

I generally try to boycott any product or service that uses guerrilla marketing, it's just annoying and stupid.

 

[SkeptiMism]

I think it'd be reasonable for them to also pay for the false alarm. That wasn't cheap for the parties involved.

 

[super-famicom]

Dumb stunt. I think there have been worse ones (Dead Island).

Also, why not name Ubisoft in the title?

 

[mikefizzled]

I found the one I mentioned. Over in Auckland, New Zealand.

"A promotional stunt for Ubisoft's Splinter Cell: Conviction in which an actor brandished a fake gun at members of the public has been condemned by police authorities.

Armed officers were called to the Viaduct Basin area of Auckland, New Zealand, as an actor threatened pub customers with an imitation pistol, reports the NZ Herald."

 

[BumblebeeCody]

Ubisoft just pump silly amounts of money into their marketing.

 

[Blackthorn]

Bombs don't beep, folks.

 

[?oe?oe]

I'm thinking it went to plan.

 

[Gen X]

Dumb stunt. I think there have been worse ones (Dead Island).

Also, why not name Ubisoft in the title?

The Burnout 2 launch day in UK was dangerous. Any speeding ticket acquired while picking up the game would be paid for by Acclaim.

 

[Ganrob]

I generally try to boycott any product or service that uses guerrilla marketing, it's just annoying and stupid.

Seriously? How does that work though? Have you ever, like, wanted to get a game, and then thought "oh no a PR firm sent something to somewhere, I decide not to have fun with that game after all."

Really just asking.

 

[red731]

Bombs don't beep, folks.

Tell that co Counter Terrorists :lol
Or, "Just once.".

Bad stunt whatever way you are looking at it.

 

[KojiKnight]

Hey... they may not have handled game reviews, but they DID get a story they COULD write about from it!

 

[VE3TRO]

Remember when one publisher a few years back had free petrol in London? Think it was for Mercenaries 2 so EA.

It caused traffic congestion up and down the road plus I think some fights broke up and the police arrived and forced them to stop.

 

[Gen X]

Sacrificial goat at God of War(2?) launch? Or was it a media event??

 

[super-famicom]

The Burnout 2 launch day in UK was dangerous. Any speeding ticket acquired while picking up the game would be paid for by Acclaim.

Wow, that one is crazy. Were there reports of any fatalities or injuries?

 

[glaurung]

Sounds like a boring stunt.

I miss the craziness of EA (I think) sending press real knives with serrated blades. And crazy blood sacrifices with God of War. And BulletStorm publishers shipping USB memory sticks in crates of raw meat. And Shadow Man 2 PR offering free tomb stones.

 

[someguyinahat]

Sounds like a boring stunt.

I miss the craziness of EA (I think) sending press real knives with serrated blades. And crazy blood sacrifices with God of War. And BulletStorm publishers shipping USB memory sticks in crates of raw meat. And Shadow Man 2 PR offering free tomb stones.

Or Dante's Inferno shipping wooden boxes with a device inside that played "Never Gonna Give You Up" on a loop, that could only be stopped by destroying the box (to represent anger.) Or Dante's Inferno again, giving reviewers a $200 cheque and basically daring them to cash it (to represent greed.)

 

[TheD]

Or Dante's Inferno shipping wooden boxes with a device inside that played "Never Gonna Give You Up" on a loop, that could only be stopped by destroying the box (to represent anger.) Or Dante's Inferno again, giving reviewers a $200 cheque and basically daring them to cash it (to represent greed.)

Am I the only one that would of just left it playing (at least till the battery died)?

 

[Maintenance]

Am I the only one that would of just left it playing (at least till the battery died)?

Take me away.. a secret place..a sweet escape...

 

[Haunted]

"French games firm" really

Can't even spell out Ubisoft in the title. Slight detected.