A while back, Mercedes had a relationship with the makers of Mario Kart 8, which ultimately led the players having the ability to drive the Mercedes GLE SUV in the game. Mercedes vehicles have also been found in various racing simulator games, but now, Mercedes is diving into the Pokemon Go fad with all four wheels spinning. To put things simply, Mercedes has its dealers in India activating lure modules – devices in the game that help attract the digital creatures and makes finding them much easier – in hopes that it will bring more people to showrooms and events.

This isn’t a joke either. Mercedes dealerships can also go the game’s official website and register their location as an official PokeStop, which will also draw players to their location. As far as the lure modules go, they last for just 30 minutes before having to be reactivated again. So, the chances are that if you walk into a Merc dealership in India, you’ll see at least one salesperson playing on his phone setting up lure modules. According to Car and Bike, Mercedes has even gone so far as to release special training materials and information to get sales staff familiar with its latest sales gimmick… I mean Campaign.

Why it Matters

I don’t know how you may feel about the whole Pokemon craze, but it’s kind of turning into an inconvenience to some of us. I happen to live in a larger city, and so far, downtown areas have been packed with people who pay more attention to their phones than where they are going. As far as Mercedes’ latest sales campaign goes, I get why the company wants to capitalize on the game and people's interest in it, but I think it’s going to cause more problems than anything.

First off, people who stumble into a dealership aren’t looking to spend $50,000 on a car; they are looking for Pokemon. On top of that, if I was looking to buy a Mercedes, I’m not sure I would want to walk into a showroom full of idiots that aren’t paying attention where they are going. That’s just my opinion, but what do you think? Will we see more of this as people continue to play the game? Will it deter you from entering a showroom if you know there are a good 20 people in there chasing around Pokemon? Let me know in the comments section below.