The makers of Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout know their game is a very popular, very watchable thirst trap for brands online, and they’re capitalizing on that. Mediatonic is forcing social media marketers to prove their thirst is true with cold hard cash, donated to a charity that helps gamers with accessibility needs.
Currently, G2 Esports is in the lead with a donation bid of $203,003, hoping to get a suit of samurai armor (styled like its logo) as a wearable costume in the game. (G2 outbid Ninja’s $200,000 offer, made a few hours ago.) Bids and designs have also come in from bidet maker Tushy, Minecraft server vendors Bisect Hosting, and indie fighting game Rivals of Aether.
(Mediatonic said it wouldn’t consider submissions from brands it considered “offensive/unsuitable.”)
The advertainment smackdown got started last week when Walmart (of Canada) and KFC sent the Fall Guys Twitter account unsolicited pics of their corporate apparel as a skin in the game. Yesterday, Mediatonic got the bright idea to call their bluff with the charity drive. It’s noteworthy that neither KFC nor Walmart (nor johnny-come-lately G Fuel) have ponied up a bid yet.
(Top reply to the above: “If this happens I hope you leak the info out to be on brand.” Walmart’s reply: “That sounds like us.”)
Mediatonic says it will let the bidding go for another two weeks to see just how bad the brands want to ride their coattails, and how much of that marketing paper they’re willing to peel off for Special Effect. That U.K.-based philanthropy helps players with disabilities acquire and set up custom peripherals. (You may have heard of Special Effect from its collaborations with Logitech and other industry leaders.)
Whoever wins out, they’ll be tapping a summer chart-topper at the right time. Fall Guys launched Aug. 4 on PlayStation 4, where it is also one of PlayStation Plus’ free games for this month, and Windows PC. The colorful, cartoony battle royale boasted more than 1.5 million new players within the first 24 hours of its launch, and it has been a programming sensation on Twitch ever since its beta.
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