Educational ash cloud game takes off

A flash game promoting a GCSE Science qualification has received more than one million hits in the first week of its release.

Eruption Disruption was created by Koko Digital, who specialise in viral advertising.

Players try to collect weather samples while flying amid volcanic ash clouds. If they get too close to the clouds, their windscreen is covered in ash and their engine starts to seize up.

The game was created for award body OCR (Oxford, Cambridge and RSA Examinations) to raise awareness of their qualifications among teachers, students and parents.

Koko Digital director Chris Steele said: “The early response to Eruption Disruption has been encouraging – even better than Reach for the Sky, our last viral project for OCR, which has received over nine million hits since its launch in December 2008.”

OCR’s digital marketing manager Michelle Hughes added: “Eruption Disruption is an ideal way to launch our new GCSE Science specifications, and using a volcanic ash cloud fitted this perfectly, as air quality is one of the areas covered.”

Koko Digital has specialised in viral campaigns since 2006. Their successes include the Chris Moyles game and Romeo, which has received over 34 million plays. They have worked with a number of established clients such as Red Bull, Sony Music and Cancer Research UK.

Recently, the Staffordshire viral agency took away four prizes at the Roses Design Awards in Manchester.