Mercenaries 2 London stunt backfires

I think it's safe to say EA and Pandemic's promotional stunt for "Mercenaries 2" last week here in L.A., where a bunch of mercs "took over" a Mobil station to give out free gas, went pretty well. Lines around the block, a decent amount of media, and hundreds of people in a car-centric city incredibly grateful to save $50. (Ironically, about the cost of a copy of "Mercs 2," though I doubt just giving away the game would get nearly as much attention)

I didn't think about it much when I was there, but it's worth noting that logistically, the event also went smoothly. Only one lane of traffic was backed up and then it smoothly snaked into an alley. Apparently when they tried the same event in London, things didn't go so well. According to London paper The Telegraph:

More than 600 drivers took advantage of the chance to fill up their tanks   after word of the offer - part of a promotion for a new computer game set in   oil-rich Venezuela - spread around London this morning.

But police ordered the Last Stop garage in Finsbury Park to call a halt to the   stunt at 11am, after the queues brought traffic to a standstill and angered   local residents...

Liberal Democrat MP for Hornsey and Wood Green, Lynne Featherstone, said: "Trying   to recreate Venezuelan-style fuel riots on the streets of London is   completely irresponsible and downright dangerous.

"Whilst a lucky few might have got some free petrol, 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."

The old saying goes that there's no such thing as bad publicity, but I think pissing off hundreds or thousands of people in morning rush hour counts. It may not be quite as bad as when Cartoon Network caused a bomb scare in Boston and had to pay authorities $2 million, but it does go to show that it's really worth thinking through the logistics before producing a public spectacle, especially if it's attached to a new product that costs tens of million and is now mentioned in every article about how pissed people are.

Here's a video of the London event, where the people getting the free gas seem happy, but someone who had to wait 10 minutes just to back out of his driveway apparently wasn't: