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Time Magazine-Gamestop Promotion under stress of its reception

While TIME magazine doesn't seem to be the magazine for gamers (I'm more a US News & World Report person myself), the magazine is getting some news from its Gamestop poster/promotion which I talked about back in mid-May. While it seems like it is getting some attention, some of it not what Activision wanted.

According to the New York Times, TIME magazine supported the art direction of the promo and also approved of Activision's take on a TIME magazine cover set in the Call of Duty world. Readers of the New York Times didn't take kindly to the depicted magazine cover.


"I'd be surprised if a single member of this valuable demo went out and bought a TIME magazine after seeing this poster in a GameStop...this whole thing is consumerism and advertising at its worst, thinly veiled by the bogus guise of 'reaching an untapped demographic."
~Anonymous New York Times reader


Call of Duty's targeted audienced wasn't all that thrilled either about the promotion. A number of game websites have added in with not so great enthusiasm for the poster.

That demographic doesn't seem too thrilled, either, as readers of game sites chimed in with not-quite-ringing endorsements.


"I've lost a lot of respect for TIME magazine...It's a news magazine, not an advertisement tool."
~Anonymous Gamespot reader

"Print media desperately grabbing for relevancy by selling out to a lowest common denominator blockbuster...this is gross"
~Anonymous Giant Bomb reader


Though not all comments are bad. A fan on Giant Bomb added the following:


"I would love to have [the poster] as a collectible....I just hope Time doesn't do this all the time with games and this is a one time thing."


In the end, TIME Magazine's promotion was unique. And it also managed to stir a lot of attention some bad and some good. Maybe because the poster design was more unique that what most people are used to in swag, it was going to get some attention with a hint of backlash. However, isn't that what Call of Duty is all about? Giving you something good that can make you irk? Doing something out there is what Activision is known to do. All in all TIME and Activision didn't do anything wrong. They were just thinking different that their norm.

You can read more about the Time/Gamestop promotion here.