The saying goes that no publicity is bad publicity, implying that even the most tasteless of marketing stunts can be of some intrinsic value—as long as they get your name out there. Well people sure are talking about a recent advertising stunt by Activision involving a famous statue of the rock and roll superstar, Jimi Hendrix.

Apparently the upcoming Isle of Wight music festival, of which Jimi Hendrix was a noted past participant, will feature two performances on the Activision game, Guitar Hero. In celebration, the folks over at Activision have taken a famous tribute statue of Hendrix near the festival grounds at the Dimbola Lodge and turned the guitar featured in the statue into a Guitar Hero peripheral.

Like adding decals to your bike helmet, the statue now sports a Guitar Hero logo and colorful gaming keys carefully positioned beneath the rocked out bronze fingers of Hendrix.

So is this an ultra clever idea by Activision to advertise for Guitar Hero by linking their game with a much beloved rock figure? Or does this kind of advertisement, sanctioned or not, deface and insult Hendrix and his fans? Sure the music of famous musicians are utilized all the time in videogame ads (remember all those poignant Halo ads with the classical underscoring?), but is it different to use a musicians image?

[via Kotaku] 

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