Guitar Hero 2 marketers should hire Ben

If you don’t know Ben, or that unbelievably good 8-year-old Guitar Hero 2 player (as I like to call him), watch this video (or view his channel and watch them all):

Now I’ve improved my skills since the last time I tried playing, but just watching him play gives me some kind of stomach pain.  I recall kicking some C64 butt at around that age, but this is some savant-level stuff.  Check out this interview with Ben for more about him and his l33t gaming skills.

There’s a lot of blog gossip coverage today about YouTube paying highly watched users (I recommend: YouTube blog, Shelly Palmer, Om Malik, TechCrunch, Andy Beal), and I agree with Om’s comment:

Whichever way you look at it, this is a good development for content creators who are looking to turn a labor of love into a full time gig.

In fact, this whole concept mirrors what I blogged about yesterday, where the true empowerment of the video marketplace is dictated solely by content creators and advertisers/sponsors. 

RedOctane, the company who produces Guitar Hero 2, generally does a great job promoting the game. Trucks roll around the country for people to try it out, and the game is consistently sold out in Best Buy and other retailers.  Cowbell Hero is an instant classic, and other fan-based activities abound across the net.

If I were in RedOctane’s marketing group, I’d be in touch with Ben and his family.  We’re only a few weeks away before school’s out for summer, and I’d jump on the opportunity to spend a week videoing the kid, and pay him handsomely for some fun commercials.  I’d top it off with a “can you beat Ben?” contest at the end of the summer (after camp, but before school starts up again).