Monty's Gaming and Wireless Outlook - Issue 185

It was my great delight this week to accept an invitation to attend the MTV Awards next month. Unfortunately, after closer inspection, I realised it was an invite to the MCV Awards, a ceremony arranged by the UK's major games trade magazine.

No disrespect to the lovable people at MCV, but I'd so much rather be talking to Beyonce than the representative of a 3D rendering software company. Maybe one day I will be glamorous enough to rub noses with the music industry, but it did remind me of a story.

When MCV (shite, done it again)... sorry, when MTV was first launched it was allegedly branded with a 'I want my MTV' logo based on a best-selling US cereal from the 1960s. The idea was to remind the babyboomers of their childhood - it would make them happy etc.

Fresh from their success, the people behind the MTV brand were asked by the Turkish government to rebrand the country as a popular tourist destination. The recent Greek Cypriot-funded release of the Midnight Express movie had shown the country to be a frightening place and consequently it looked much more fun to party in the Greek islands than a Turkish prison.

So off went the branders around the country and three months later sat in front of the Turkish junta with their findings. After espousing the attractions of places such as Ephesus, Bodrum, Kas and other such unspoilt joys, their advice was... to rename the country, Turkey as a word didn't work.

No doubt the Turkish generals were delighted to be told that, but sadly decided to stick with the name. Sound ridiculous? Mmm, not really. Have a look at our old friend 3G and how it was supposed to change the way the world used their mobile phones.

A report this week seems to reiterate that very promise. 3G phone owners are making short movies, blogging, taking great photos and generally unlocking latent creativity. What's more, for single men, it appears that owning such a device impresses the laydeez.

But maybe the problem is with '3G'. People are still a bit frightened by the term and the populace are still holding back from accessing the benefits it offers. So, like the branders that went to Turkey, it's time to rebrand 3G.

So my suggestion is to call it 'BetterFone'. That says it all. A 3G phone is better than all models before it. Simple as that. But, with ideas like that I'm not holding my breath for any glamorous awards invites. Still, what the heck, the MCV Awards will be a laugh.