Rovio is nothing if not creative. The developer behind Angry Birds, the 75+ million selling iPhone and Android game, has signed on to create a new version of its flagship series co-branded with Rio, an upcoming animated bird movie from 20th Century Fox. Now, we’ve learned that the movie will have a 30-second commercial in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl featuring an embedded code gamers can enter to unlock a secret level in the original Angry Birds. The upcoming Angry Birds Rio game is due on March 22.
But wait, there’s more. Advertising Age reports that players who beat the level will then be entered into an official “Rio” sweepstakes, in which one lucky winner will be flown to Rio de Janiero on March 22 to view the premiere of Rio in style.
For those who can’t find or miss the code (supposedly, it will be hard to find for those who can’t view the commercial “frame-by-frame”), the ad will be available on YouTube after the Super Bowl ends. Though we wonder how many people will be patient enough to sift through every frame of a Super Bowl ad to unlock a level in Angry Birds, Other advertisers are attempting similar tactics. Kia’s Super Bowl ad will feature an answer to a vital question in a “One Epic Contest” promotion it is holding. The winner of that will get a 2011 Optima.
Do you plan on spending minutes of your time looking through the Rio movie ad to unlock a bonus level in Angry Birds, a casual mobile game? Hopefully not. After all, why do the work when the Internet will likely figure out the answer for you. We’ll report on the secret level code as soon as we learn it.
