7-Eleven Begins "God of War III" Video Game Push

DALLAS -- "God of War III," the latest installment in one of Sony PlayStation's premier video game franchises, is gearing up for battle and enlisted 7-Eleven Inc. and Mountain Dew as allies, according to a report by Advertising Age.

"God of War III" is the first game in the Greek mythology-based series that can be played on the PlayStation 3 system. Although the video game won't hit shelves until March 16, the marketing campaign begins this week at 7-Eleven stores.

Staring today, fans of the game can head to 7-Eleven convenience store locations for the new Kratos Fury Slurpee flavor, created by Mountain Dew. The blackberry-and-lime-flavored frozen drink comes with a choice of four different "God of War" artwork cups -- all of which include a code the customer can use to download a variety of content, including behind-the-scenes video of the making the game, an animated theme of protagonist Kratos' face, wallpaper for PCs, and virtual items that unlock armor to use inside the game, AdAge reported.

Hanging neck tags on all Mountain Dew two-liter and 20-ounce bottles also include codes that can be redeemed at 7-Eleven's Slurpee.com, according to the report.

"7-Eleven's core target is the 18- to 34-year-old male who is right in the sweet spot for this game," said Ginger Kraus, senior director-marketing alliances for Sony Computer Entertainment America. "It's a great alternative marketing opportunity to reach that gamer."

In addition, the Kratos Slurpee promotion will get marketing support on television with a promotional tag on Mountain Dew spots running during the Winter Dew Tour on NBC, online banners and play on social network Facebook, as well as e-mail marketing to the Slurpee Nation, PlayStation and Mountain Dew communities.

Blockbuster sales are expected for "God of War III." CNET ranked it one of the 30 most-anticipated games of 2010 in what promises to be a competitive year for video games.

PlayStation has been teasing the game with previews, demos and clips for months, as well as doing pre-sales and promotions at retailers. However, the 7-Eleven promotion is the first "official promotional campaign" and foreshadows a much larger campaign coming in March, according to the report.

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