Red Bull to Be "First" Brand in Home

Red Bull has become the "first" brand in Home for the PlayStation 3, reports Brand Republic. I say "first" because it should probably be qualified as first consumer goods brand or beverage brand as game companies and movies have already been staking out spots in the still-in-beta virtual world. I emphasize it also out of a sense of mild trepidation that as we near launch, we'll start to see more announcements of "first" this or that as we did with Second Life during the peak of the hype cycle. But at least Red Bull is getting out of the gate early.

As a part of Red Bull's presence, though, the company has built a tropical island with air plane races it's real-world racing series.  Home Director Jack Buser told us that there's a strong interest from consumer brands in getting into the virtual world, but Sony is keeping mum on other partnerships and waiting to announce them at a future date.

"The game gave us the first opportunity to recreate in the gaming world what we try to do in the real world, which is to facilitate interaction, to give people stories, memories, experiences and a really good opportunity to interact with the brand,"  John Beasley, brand marketing manager told Brand Republic. "It's an easy environment for brands to take that first step into gaming." [via Brand Republic]