Remember EA's #Lust contest for Dante's Inferno that they ran at San Diego Comic Con? Well, in a strange twist of fate, PixelPoet of GayGamer came in as a runner up in the contest, after submitting some pictures of himself with a Booth Bro (suggest a better name for them if you've got one) from PAX.
When he found out that he won one of the five runner up prizes ($240 to the EA Store and a shirt), he declined the offer and sent back an email to the people at EA, pointing out how narrow-minded the contest was. PixelPoet also pointed out how just the week before, EA had run an event in San Francisco with GLAAD, where they talked about many publishers still had a "boys club" mentality about who played their games.
And so, what to do with those $240? Well, PixelPoet had a couple of suggestions:
1) A new sexual-harassment training video/seminar
2) Another PR team to try to spin this whole debacle of a contest into a positive light
3) A direct phone line to EA's legal depart to use before you try anymore PR stunts
4) Six copies of your game when it releases, since I know you've lost at least that many fans with this stunt
5) Or the next time you go to Hooters (for the wings, of course), leave a $240 tip for your waitress in a karmic way of balancing out what has been done to the booth babes of SDCC due to this contest
Kudos to PixelPoet for his letter back to the folks at EA, which is fully available over at GayGamer. I think this just adds to the hilarity of all the backfire this event caused EA at SDCC. Did any of you readers actually enter the contest?
Contest:
1:20 PM on 07.29.2009
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Sounds like "look at me!"
Also, Booth Bros LOL(:
Well played though PixelPoet, well played indeed.
So? He's raising awareness for something he thinks is ridiculous/wrong. Good for him.
I suppose they could have switched it to anger and given the prizes to whoever overreacted the most.
Seriously though, way to go PixelPoet. It's cool that somebody stood up to EA for their stupid PR antics.
What a great idea, lol.
1- Join contest
2- Win a prize, treated equally
3- Complain about equality
4- Give back money
5- ???
6- Loss (Well, profit doesn't fit here)
Some people just love to feel victimized today...
Maybe it's just the picture, but this is the best thing to come out of all the marketing schemes for this game.
I mean, just look at that picture. Do you think that there's even a fraction of that levity in any of the other contestant's entries?
Speaking of, do we know what the other winners are?
He tried to prove a point that the contest was misogynistic or exploitative, but was proven wrong when they selected him as the winner. I don't get it.
@Jumbo: yes, booth bear is perfect :D
I guess we have gotten to the point where something can't be obviously done in a tongue-in-cheek manner as a gag, or for fun? Of course not everyone is going to think it's a fun idea, and that's fun. But not everything has to be a huge, offensive ordeal that must be protested and eventually become the subject of righteous anger from every imaginable person.
How is the idea of a contest where you take a picture with a booth babe any worse than having booth babes in the first place? How is it any worse than posting pictures of said booth babes on a website (as this site and many, many others do)?
Don't start with the wording of the contest. Anyone who read the whole thing knows that it wasn't EA condoning people sexually harassing or inappropriately interacting with booth babes. It was just a way to tie it in with the over the top nature of the game.
Aren't there more important things to be up in arms about?
While I'm of course in support of the gay community, looking for things to get up in arms about doesn't do anyone any favors. There is nothing in the contest that promoted sexual harassment. Sexuality, yes, but not sexual harassment. Most of his suggestions of what to do with the money are entirely irrelevant.
Come on. The poster itself says "Take pictures with us or any booth babe." It even shows a guy just standing there next to a booth babe. It's not as if the guy is bending over the girl in the picture or pantomiming various sexual acts with her. Again, the "lust" angle is just to tie it in to the game. Poorly contrived? Sure, but not really as offensive as it's being made out to be.
I would argue that the idiots who will take it to the extreme are the same idiots that would be doing some idiotic shit no matter what.
Also, the booth babes DID sign up for it. Their job is to look hot, get ogled all day long, and sure, take pictures with drooling adolescents in order to drum up some interest in the product that the booth is featuring.
PixelPoet used this as a platform to vent about issues that were obviously bothering him anyway. At some point, someone would have been the target of this rant. He just used EA because apparently their juvenile, yet ultimately harmless promotion fit the bill enough for him to get up on his soapbox.
Frankly, I don't see anything wrong with the contest, and the fact that EA chose one of the GayGamer writers with a booth bro as a runner up just reinforces that there isn't anything sexist or anti-homosexual going on.
I'm assuming you're being sarcastic because that's exactly how I'd describe the original contest - EA using its female booth babes to get cheap publicity among the male demographic.
Very valid points. They ought to just get rid of the booth "participants" for good anyways. Let everyone know, that this is why we can't have nice things. Have a monotone drone up at your booth, mindlessly repeating all the new features of the game. Maybe even a programmed robot. Robotic engineers may cry exploitation though.
Everything is theatrics in gaming. Everything. This article is testament.
@jackburnt and @cbunn and @motorobo and @JiR INC (If you guys all classify yourself as straight, especially)-
Shut Up. No, seriously, I'm not gonna even be so humble as to ask you please. Just shut. the fuck. up.
I'd have something more intelligible to say in normal circumstances, but it'd really be lost on you. Not worth it. Just for the sake of any sanity, shut the fuck up.
and @Rigby: Er... no ^^
Agreed, I can only think it's to save face. Considering how poorly they're handling the advertising for this game, it comes off very tacky.
I was more interested in this game at first, but with how EA is treating it, I'm slowly losing interest.
I don't see a problem with the way this guy handled anything and it seems like some of the people didn't read the letter. This picture isn't from this contest, it's from last years PAX and he declined his picture being used by them.
He's making a stand, which I think should be done. The Video Game community is stereotyped by the ignorance of general society already, I think booth babes helps enforce that a bit. I'm not interested in Booth Babes, I'm interested in Video Games. We buy your games, 'you' should acknowledge the community as a whole, not like boob loving cave dwellers.
If you want to advertise your game, make it a good game, get it out there and stop doing tacky things like this.
As for the contest: I take no offense to those who are misogynistic, as long as you are open and honest about it. Most misogynists aren't and they'll act like they love their girlfriend and then turn around and bang their sister. Fuck these hypocritical douchebags and fuck EA for acting like they are concerned about the "boys club" in gaming culture and then have this contest.
And what's with PixelPoet dissing frat boys. Clearly he hates Greeks. Cheating bastard used a pic from the wrong event rabble rabble rabble.
I've diagnosed your illness, and you have a case of asspain. I have prescribed some ointment for you.