Top 10 Strangest Advertisement-Based Video Games

Let’s kick off our list with a bizarre, yet wildly fun adver-tainment computer game from the late 90s. This one managed to merge a balanced breakfast with intergalactic adventure! The first video game to ever be included in a cereal box, it was created as a child-friendly overhaul of the first five levels of “Doom”, while making you an armored wheat warrior.

One of the earliest promotional games ever made, this maze game was offered free of charge by the Purina dog food company. Given to customers who sent in proofs of purchase of their “Chuck Wagon” dog food, they were given the chance to play as a dog searching for food, while trying to avoid the dogcatcher. I guess that makes as much sense as their commercials!

The coolest mascot still around, Chester Cheetah not only spurred much of today’s obesity epidemic, but starred in two video games in the early 1990s! These were each based on the platforming style of Super Mario, but each attempted to make the formula appear cooler with Chester’s sense of attitude.

He doesn’t only smash through walls, but into video games as well! The self-proclaimed life of the party, Kool Aid man is on a mission to blast “thirsties.” In this odd Atari game, you have to keep those pesky creatures and their straws from drinking up your Kool Aid pond. Apparently, the last thing Kool Aid man wants is for his red stuff to quench anyone’s thirst!

There have been several attempts by the McDonald’s fast food chain to advertise through games, and this is the most memorable. In this side-scroller, up to 2-players players took on the role of two boys who would travel through McDonald Land. On their journey to recover Ronald’s magic bag from the Hamburgler, they met several franchise characters, and had to collect special cards. Till this day we’re still left wondering, what was that powder coming out of Ronald’s bag? Is it McDonald’s secret ingredient?

You thought M.C. Kids was strange? Well get this, it was later transformed into the 7-Up game “Spot: The Cool Adventure” for the Gameboy. I think there’s a subliminal message in there somewhere.

More famously, the shades-wearing red circle made waves in two home console releases. Shockingly, these delivered stellar graphics in one of the most ambitious advertising crossover ever made. Who else is getting thirsty?

The clay motion advertisement from Domino’s Pizza was so popular, that this pizza destroyer got his own adventure. While he first appeared as the antagonist in 1989’s computer game “Avoid The Noid”, he was quickly recast as a good guy the following year in “Yo! Noid.” Here, players got to take on his green and more mischievous duplicate Mr. Green.

Space Invaders meets soda! This straightforward promo cartridge was once given to 125 sales executives at Coca-Cola’s sales convention. Within the game, Pepsi was shown as an intruder that had to be destroyed! Due to its rarity, and downright bizarre fixation on another company, this Coca-Cola commissioned Atari game now fetches prices well into the thousands of dollars.

Coca-Cola and 7-Up aren’t the only Soda company that can play games. In 1996, Pepsi took things to the extreme by unleashing an adrenaline filled mascot upon the world. The result was a clone of Crash Bandicoot that attempted to make players want to run out and grab their product. If you ask me, Pepsi Man should go and work for Red Bull.

Rounding out our Top 10 Countdown is the overly creepy mascot of Burger King. Not just making his way into our nightmares, this silent stalker hungered for his own game on the Xbox. As a result, he appeared in not one, but three separate retail games. These included “Sneak King”, “Big Bumpin” and “Pocketbike Racer.” Originally meant as downloadable promo games, these actually turned out to be well done, and went on to be sold in stores. Due to the quality and fun involved, its safe to say that the King has managed to claim the throne of adver-games.