The idea was a simple one – give away $40,000 of free gas to motorists in order to promote a new video game. But the result when it happened in a London neighborhood on Friday was chaos and even brought condemnation from the local Member of Parliament.
Given that gas costs well over $8 a gallon in the UK, it’s not surprising that the promotion, created by Electronic Arts to promote the Mercenaries 2: World in Flames game, attracted crowds to the Last Stop garage in Finsbury Park London. For four hours every motorist who made it into the station would receive $80 of gas.
That created massive lines, according to the BBC, and left local resident furious – one had to wait 10 minutes to be able to pull out of her driveway, even though EA employed security staff in the area during the stunt. Traffic was snarled throughout the area as the line waiting for gas continued to grow.
The event brought condemnation from local MP, Lynne Featherstone:
"Whilst a lucky few might have got free petrol, hundreds of residents have faced misery. Hundreds of local residents have faced misery on their daily journeys this morning. They deserve an apology for being the victims of such an ill thought-out media stunt."
Unsurprisingly, those who received free gas loved the idea, and EA was pleased with the results, which said the queues mimicked scenes from the game. Company spokeswoman Louise Marchant said:
"It’s set in Venezuela, you play a mercenary and fuel is used as a currency."
