Key Takeaways:
Taking a risk with a mascot is key to developing the brand
and reaching a large audience
Although a recurring theme, content is always king. Negativity
can be damning while positivity may create unforeseen benefits
Games leave legacies for the brand
(A game based on 7
Up’s mascot Spot. Credit: Giantbomb.com)
Licensed games have a checkered past. In the early days of
the NES, Genesis, and SNES, there were some high quality games based on
television programs or films. Specifically, a large majority of Disney games
were received favorably due to the strong products from Capcom, a trusted, high
quality developer in the industry. Capcom focused its efforts on the Disney
cartoons, such as Ducktales and Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers, most of
which were met with critical and commercial success. However, for every great
game Capcom released certain companies would churn out poorly designed,
sometimes unplayable game adaptations of popular movies or media, which would
in turn hurt the brand significantly and likely pull support for a game sequel[1].
Unfortunately as the years have gone on the quality issue has turned more and
more negative, with most licensed games maxing out at a mediocre review score.
However, film and television adaptations are not the purpose of this post.
Instead, this entry will focus on a subgenre of licensed games: Advergames
(games that advertise a brand by featuring it in the game). More specifically,
this post is all about the soda company 7 Up and its mascot, Spot, and his most
notable game, Cool Spot. While there
were other games that features the titular red spot, they were not as impactful
as Cool Spot. 7 Up took a huge risk
putting its brand into gaming systems, one that I believe paid off with the
legacy it left. It was not the greatest game ever made, but it was solid, one
with personality and fun, and it definitely provided the positive brand
awareness needed to make an impact in a soda war dominated by two key players.
(That can’t be healthy. Effective though. Credit: pintrest.com)
In the world of beverages, 7 Up stands out as a risk taker
with its marketing. In recent memory it has made more provocative ads than its
competitors (Make 7, Up Yours)[2].
Back in the 80’s and early ‘90’s, the key phrase used in the ad campaigns was
“On the Spot” while other ads referred to 7 Up as the “Uncola”, differentiating
it from competitors. The competitive positioning used was key for a market
niche player like 7 Up that needed to make an impact. In fact, certain
competitively framed advertisements targeted both Coke and Pepsi. In one
specific instance, an advertisement shows a glass filled with a brown,
carbonated beverage and then has the mascot Spot use a hose to drain the brown
color out of the glass, revealing the clear liquid as 7 Up, and calling it the “Uncola”.
If nothing else, advertising like this made 7 Up unique in an industry
overflowing with competitors.
(Very cool
[Spot]. Credit: Snescentral.com)
These aggressive marketing tactics lead to the creation of
several games featuring Spot. While Advergames existed before (Coke had a Space Invaders clone made for the Atari
where players would use a Coke bottle to shoot the letters in the word “Pepsi”),
there had never been a continuous effort like 7 Up’s Spot. Cool Spot specifically was ported to several consoles, making the
game relatively inescapable if you owned one of the platforms it was featured
on. 7 Up bet big that Cool Spot was
going to give its brand and mascot a bigger presence in the world of video
games. As a child, none of 7 Up’s advertising meant much to me until I played
the game Cool Spot. Released for
multiple consoles in 1993, the game followed 7 Up’s Spot, the red, 7 Up spot
with sunglasses, hands and feet, on his side scrolling journey to save his
fellow spots. Spot could shoot soda bubbles out of his hands to defeat enemies,
most of which were creatively designed (ex. crabs with polka dotted
underpants). The game itself was filled with lush environments, an upbeat
soundtrack (composed by noted game composer Tommy Tallarico), and challenging
platforming elements. Now there were instances of repetition and the challenge
skewed a little harder which detracted from the overall quality, but it was
still considered a critical success. So much so that it still looks like a
successful case study, and seems to be largely protected from animosity unlike
a lot of other Advergames.
(Sunglasses
make mascots cooler. Credit: coolspot.wikia.com, reddit.com)
Most importantly, Spot himself resonated with users as well
as most mascots. The amount of carefree swagger the character has makes him
easy to resonate with. From his gingerly walking motion to his sweet shades (personal
opinion - sunglasses make most characters cooler) and how his attack came from
a flicking gesture. The sound effects carried over from the commercials as
well, and fit with the character’s identity. I believe that even if Spot was
not the mascot of a company for a period of time, the solid quality of the game
would have made him a success. There is a fine line for mascots between cool
and obnoxious, and Spot was certainly on the side of cool while others who’ve
failed leaned towards obnoxious (ex. Bubsy…ugh). Nevertheless by the mid ‘90s
Spot’s time as the mascot for 7 Up was over, which tends to be the natural occurrence
with brands and specific marketing campaigns. To be fair, Spot appeared to be
universally liked, but with changing markets it’s not overly surprising to see
him fade away.
(This is how the game starts…Credit:
Destructoid.com)
More importantly though, did Cool Spot help drive traffic towards 7 Up? The answer is not simple
as sales data is limited[3].
However, within the game 7 Up paraphernalia is present everywhere: a 7 Up
bottle is Spot’s means of transportation into the first stage, the 7 Up logo is
an extra life, and little 7 Up bottles provide Spot with extra health. Not to
mention the bonus stage’s take place in a gigantic 7 Up bottle where Spot is
tasked with trying to grab all the letters that spell out the word “Uncola”.
Clearly the game is overflowing with advertisements for its product, so much so
it might seem overwhelming to gamers. Yet, it seems that players look at the
game favorably, even many years later. If you take the time to look up top Advergames,
licensed games or Cool Spot reviews you’ll find that it seems to be held in
relatively high regard.
(Looks good to me. Credit:
gamecult.umwblogs.com)
In my opinion, the main reason Cool Spot was so successful is that
when you say the game's concept out loud you naturally think it should be a
disaster – a platforming game based on a mascot of a soft drink. Consumer
Packaged Goods companies are not often present in the gaming industry and thus
the initial expectation is the game will focus on branding instead of quality. Cool Spot, while still littered with a
lot of advertisements for its product, made sure that Virgin developed a
quality product to not tarnish their brand. Cool
Spot defied the odds presented before it and left itself with a strong legacy.
Advergames still exist, but few have managed to equal or surpass the reception
of Cool Spot. Meanwhile, Spot has
since faded away. It will be interesting to see if Spot ever makes another
return. Though he did have a sequel (Spot
Goes to Hollywood) it was not nearly as successful as Cool Spot. However, with retro revivals becoming popular in today’s
media, I could definitely see a return for Spot. If 7 Up wants to invest in the
brand in the gaming media I believe players would be very intrigued. Then
again, I’m guessing the marketing team at 7 Up is much different today than the
one many years ago when Cool Spot was
released, so he may have to remain in dormancy as solely an example of what a
commitment to a solid product can truly achieve. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m
dying for a 7 Up.
[1]
LJN was a particularly poorly received game developer that destroyed the
legacies of potential game adaptations
[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGs-6oyGbdE
[3] There
are no sales’ figures for the game on VGchartz.com, I’m trying to see if I can
procure some figures on sales from 7 Up and Doctor Pepper Snapple Group
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