Last week, rapper Snoop Dogg promoted the social online game Mafia Wars by blowing up an armored truck in the middle of the Nevada desert. Video of the event garnered 2 million live views on Ustream.
Las Vegas was recently added as a playable city in the social game Mafia Wars, and game-maker Zynga has been trying to promote the expansion in creative ways. Believe it or not, Snoop Dogg’s explosive antics aren’t the most controversial or unusual gimmick; Zynga contracted ad agency Davis Ellin Advertising to distribute fake $25,000 bills on the sidewalks of San Francisco as well. Anyone who picked up the bills found a web address for the Mafia Wars website.
That campaign drew criticism from San Francisco City Hall, which claimed that it involved illegal littering that cost the city a significant amount of money to clean.
To our knowledge, the Snoop Dogg video hasn’t made anyone angry yet. Its two million views on Ustream made it the most-viewed single event on the live video site in 2010 thus far. That level of viewership matches some network TV programs.
Snoop Dogg was already a Ustream star before this; his album launch became an online reality TV broadcast several months ago. And don’t forget that he sold branded virtual goods in the online social game WeeWorld just a few days ago. It looks like this rapper is in his element here. Who would have thought?
Here’s the video from the official Mafia Wars YouTube channel.
More About: games, gaming, live video, Mafia Wars, mafia wars las vegas, MARKETING, online games, snoop dogg, social games, ustream, video games, Zynga
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