• by David , October 20, 2007

I remember The Oregon Trail computer game quite well.

Diseases with fictional family characters, dead oxen, broken wagons.

Wow was life a pain.

Last week I received a text message from a friend saying that I "broke my hand doing the airplane out the car window." Not having an idea what she was talking about I sent back a couple of question marks.

"We're taking a road trip," she said. "It's like Oregon Trail."

I found out a few minutes later that Erin was actually playing a modernized version of "The Oregon Trail" called "Thule Trail." In fact, everyone her office was. They were completely amused with the funny sayings and setbacks parodizing the original 1985 computer game.

The new Web-based game is a marketing effort for Sweedish travel accessory company Thule. It got us remotely familiar with the brand while keeping us locked to their site for an extended period of time. This is an excellent example of interactive opportunities provide excellent sales opportunities.

The game...
a) Made us chuckle and relate to something in common from our pasts
b) Allowed us to relieve stress and kill time
c) Easily went viral thanks to an easy URL and great visibility on the front page.

Check it out yourself:

www.thuletrail.com