Brass Knuckles Fail

Tchotchkes. Companies circulate these small items around the industry to create buzz and build suspense for upcoming products and events. Some are amazing, such as a paper thin sheet of coaxial cable that was passed around at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show. However, there are times that you question: why would (insert company) give me this?

EA released Godfather II, a multiplatform action title that resembles the Grand Theft Auto series, earlier this month. The videogame is based on the second film as the player continues to build their mafia army. Godfather II has received decent reviews, but the most interesting part of EA’s launch was the decision to include gold plated brass knuckles in the press kits for the journalists.

As an initial idea, brass knuckles seem like a great choice to build interest on Godfather II. The item directly correlates to the theme of the videogame and could bring the Godfather experience out of the virtual world (not saying that journalists should go use these). However, brass knuckles are illegal!

Moral of the story is creativity in great, but ensure that enough research is done prior to sending out this swag. While it did create buzz in the media, it probably took away from their initial message.