On Feb. 3, big brands and their agencies will line up to compete for what they hope will be remembered as the best TV commercial for Super Bowl XLVII, spending tens of millions of dollars in the process. One major retailer, Target, will be sitting on the sidelines, having developed a more modest (and budget-friendly) mobile game instead.
Snack Bowl, which can be played on mobile web browsers as well as downloadable apps for iPhone and Android devices, is pretty basic. You're awarded points for tossing a carousel of branded snacks, including DiGiorno pizza and Coke Zero, to your jersey-wearing guests, who are inexplicably running across your living room one by one. Your guests move faster and faster, making the game increasingly difficult. Fail to feed three of your guests and it's game over.
To spread awareness of the game, players are encouraged to challenge their Facebook friends to beat their high scores.
The idea for Snack Bowl was developed internally, fed by the success of earlier mobile games Target has developed for various holidays, Eddie Baeb, a spokesperson for Target, told Mashable. "We're viewing digital as a lot more than shopping online -- it's an opportunity to connect with guests better," said Baeb.
The game will be promoted on the landing page of Target's mobile site and on its flagship mobile apps, as well as through paid mobile advertising, including search.
Although the game really falls in the branding (rather than direct-selling) category, its landing page does link to shopping pages for TVs and fan gear on Target's website.