1980's Mello Yello Q*bert Ad Campaign

Phetishboy

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Was there ever a flyer or ad campaign for this sweet soda/arcade match up? I am thinking of designing a topper for my Qbert machine that would be similar to the Galaga Topper that Bill did a few years back. I want to design it in such a way as to make it seem as if it had been designed back in the early 80's as part of Coke's ad campaign to advertise the Mello Yello Qbert roms. So far, the only related image I could find is this:

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I like it's simplicity and vibrancy, so if no other images pop up, I will probably rely heavily on it as inspiration to base my topper on. If you know of any other flyers, brochures, signs, magazine articles, etc that you can point me to, I would be much obliged. Thanks!
 
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Nothing huh? Wow I'd thought there'd be some sort of record of this alleged promotion. Marketing letters, magazine articles, end of isle displays, banners, something. I know Mort bought the MY Qbert machine that was won in a promotional contest in North Dakota, but I don't think there was any visible difference in the machine, just the rom swap on the board. It'd be cool to have a real Qbert marquee with a little Mello Yello symbol in the corner, but I think a topper would be much cooler.
 
Nothing huh? Wow I'd thought there'd be some sort of record of this alleged promotion. Marketing letters, magazine articles, end of isle displays, banners, something. I know Mort bought the MY Qbert machine that was won in a promotional contest in North Dakota, but I don't think there was any visible difference in the machine, just the rom swap on the board. It'd be cool to have a real Qbert marquee with a little Mello Yello symbol in the corner, but I think a topper would be much cooler.

As I recall that MY Qbert also had no coin door.
 
Google image search shows the image in the original post, as well as an article from bitd about it (further down the search results). I tried copy/pasting the link but my computer wouldn't allow it.
 
I don't remember seeing any promotions myself but I'd be interested in a topper for my qbert.

Oh, and don't forget the Muppets in Space or Space Madness topper for Mad Planets.

Haa Haa
 
That's a pretty sweet image already Phet. Shouldn't be too hard to adapt it to fit a nice topper. Keep it simple!
 
Yeah I agree. We need to come up with some text/copy for the contest. Something like

"Coca-Cola teams up with Gottlieb to bring you Mello Yello Q*bert!" Blaah Blaah Blaah, clear 2 screens to give Qbert a refreshment break" Blaah blaah"
 
Yeah I agree. We need to come up with some text/copy for the contest. Something like

"Coca-Cola teams up with Gottlieb to bring you Mello Yello Q*bert!" Blaah Blaah Blaah, clear 2 screens to give Qbert a refreshment break" Blaah blaah"

Great idea!
 
Great idea!

Feel free to add anything you feel would sound authentic for the time period, and if you have an actual piece of marketing paraphernalia with some relevant copy on it, LMK. I am trying to get as much info in as possible, then cut it down to one short paragraph that sounds official. Keep it simple. Feel free to tweak mine as well, as I wrote this in a hurry:

"Coca-Cola and the D. Gottlieb Amusement Company team up to bring you an exclusive video game that you won't find at your local arcade! We took the hottest video game character in town and combined him with the coolest citrus soft drink on the planet. Introducing Mello Yello Q*bert! The game play is just like the Q*bert you've all grown to love, but clear 2 pyramids in our version, and Q*bert gets to enjoy a refreshment break with an ice cold Mello Yello! Enter at this or any participating retailer for your chance to WIN your very own Mello Yello Q*bert arcade game! Sweepstakes ends 11/23/1983. Winners will be announced 12/20/1983. Odds of winning 1:230,000. No purchase necessary."
 
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This is all MAME has to say about it:

"A slightly different version known as 'Mello Yello' was programmed for promotion of the Mellow-Yellow softdrink, but it was never released to the market. "
 
This is interesting, and something I never knew, but now the MelloYello and Q*Bert tie-in makes more sense:

from WIKI:

"Gottlieb was bought by Columbia Pictures in 1977. In 1983, after the Coca Cola Company had acquired Columbia, Gottlieb's pinball assets were transferred to a new Coca Cola subsidiary, Mylstar Electronics, but this proved to be short-lived. By 1984 the video game industry in North America was in the middle of a shakeout and Coca Cola sought to divest itself of Mylstar, which also made video games. A management group, led by Gilbert G. Pollock, purchased Mylstar's pinball assets in October 1984 and continued the manufacture of pinball machines under a new company, Premier Technology. As a result of this a number of prototype Mylstar arcade games, which were not purchased by the investors, were never released. Premier did go on to produce one last arcade game, 1989's Exterminator. Premier Technology, which returned to selling pinball machines under the name Gottlieb after the purchase, continued in operation until the summer of 1996, when the declining demand for pinball machines forced the company to cease business. Premier did not file for bankruptcy, but sold off all its assets for the benefit of its creditors."
 
Did you see this article from 1983?

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Hellz no, that's why I was asking for any info I could find. Other than an actual poster/ end isle cardboard display or a long lost Mello Yello marquee, that article is the best and coolest bit of information I have ever seen on this game. Thanks for that. Wow.
 
Check out this article. Maybe you can contact the people involved to see if there are any papers with it: http://www.rotheblog.com/2010/02/classic-arcade-games/mello-yello-qbert-for-sale-fargo-north-dakota/

Sorry I just saw that they really didn't have anything from the thread about it last year.

Hey one idea would be to make the background on the topper a block background like the graphics on the cocktail or CPO. Cover the back with the block pattern. Would look cool. Here's a crummy photoshop job to show what I mean. Mine sucks. The can needs to be more pronounced and of course the masking is horrible but you get my idea.
 

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Sorry I just saw that they really didn't have anything from the thread about it last year.

Hey one idea would be to make the background on the topper a block background like the graphics on the cocktail or CPO. Cover the back with the block pattern. Would look cool. Here's a crummy photoshop job to show what I mean. Mine sucks. The can needs to be more pronounced and of course the masking is horrible but you get my idea.

Daddy like.
 
I think it should read "no purchase necessary". If you have to purchase something it's considered a lottery and in many states that's not allowed.
 
I think it should read "no purchase necessary". If you have to purchase something it's considered a lottery and in many states that's not allowed.

I think this promotion was for stores like 7-11 and Tom Thumb to buy more Mello Yello from their distributor though. The more soda they bought to resell, the better their chance at winning the machine. We could change it to be aimed more at consumers though.
 
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