Namco Bandai Partners have today revealed their latest weapon in the war on wishy-washy marketing by blowing nearly the entire Ace Combat: Assault Horizon budget purchasing and restoring a real-life jet fighter. The MiG-21Bis model was one of nearly 100 planes due to be scrapped by the Estovakian Air Force because of government cuts to the nation’s armed forces.
Namco Bandai invested just over £285,000 in restoring the aircraft to a fully functional state before it was finally transported to the UK aboard the aircraft carrier, Admiral Kunzetov, as it rendezvoused with navy forces for a routine training mission. The aircraft has since been skinned using a modified design from the Ace Combat Skin Design competition (http://www.facebook.com/#!/AceCombatofficial) and delivered to Namco Bandai’s UK offices on the back of really big lorry.
The aircraft will be used for Marketing and PR promotions, primarily to deliver preview code to press, take journalists on experiential jet-fighter experiences and to scare local publishing rivals, Capcom. It will remain in the London HQs car-park as according to leading insurance website, weinsureanything.com, ‘it would be impossible to insure for the road’.
‘Namco Bandai UK are tired of just normal, boring Marketing and standard PR stunts,’ Marketing Director, Lee Kirton said of the investment, ‘so I instructed the Product Manager, Lauren Bradley, to purchase a MiG-21BIS fighter and to get it branded up for Assault Horizon promotional activity.’
For more information on Ace Combat: Assault Horizon, log on to http://acecombatassaulthorizon.namcobandaigames.eu/.