You’d think this isn’t true since it’s Friday, but it is: Mercenaries 2 caused huge traffic jams in the north of London this morning as drivers queued up outside a single, small petrol station (gas to you folks in the States) for £20,000 ($35,000/€25,000) worth of free fuel for their car in a publicity stunt organized by EA to promote the game.

Expect the usual reactions from cranky old politicians after the jump.

With a military Jeep parked in the forecourt and oil barrels branded with the Mercs logo, it was definitely a scene to behold as it was in the middle of London, and that’s before the gridlock started. When word spread, drivers began to queue for miles down the road to get their hands on £40 ($71/€50) of fuel each, causing huge tailbacks and gridlock chaos in the area. From 6.30am to 10.30am, the entire area was smothered by traffic. Sweet.

Naturally, cranky ole politicians (the type that probably read the Daily Mail and complain about “these kids and their rap music and iMods”) attacked the stunt but hey, a bunch of people got free fuel and they weren’t complaining: some even went as far as saying they’d buy the game after this stunt, since the money they saved on fuel was enough to pop into their nearest gaming store and pick up a brand-spanking-new copy of Mercs 2 (or, more likely, one of the many pre-owned ones that will litter the shops by now since many have realized that it’s not as good as the hype led people to believe).

Angry residents attacked the stunt too, which is understandable, but at the same time publicity stunts are designed for this sort of thing: they generate attention from the media and hence promote the game even more than the usual bus shelter adverts and billboard campaigns would. As some sort of excuse for generating such a stunt, EA released a statement explaining why they gave away the fuel:

“It’s set in Venezuela, you play a mercenary and fuel is used as a currency.”

And this stunt was in London, there are no mercenaries and fuel was given away for free rather than used to buy things, except perhaps a copy of Mercs 2. Hmm, doesn’t quite work out. Still, you can hit up the link below for a video of the chaos and have a giggle at some grouchy old residents. They just don’t get us youthful types.

Chaos at £20,000 petrol giveaway - BBC News

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