The vehicles from Mad Max went beyond Thunderdome this week, all the way to Seattle, Washington. Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment Inc., went all out to promote the new Mad Max video game that went on sale today. In what can only be described as a brilliant cross promotional partnership, Warner Bros. teamed up with Uber Inc. to give the sharing economy a taste of post apocalyptic transportation. The aggressive-looking muscle cars were familiar to anyone who watched Mad Max: Fury Road, the successful series reboot that featured Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron. They looked completely out of place on Seattle streets, making them impossible to miss. Uber customers were picked up, and given complimentary rides in the vehicles, and of course they took loads of pictures, and shared them across all their social networks. Great work, Warner Bros. Money well spent. We’re likely to see many more mashups like this. Media companies are a growing source of income for tech startups.

Film and video game publishers have been getting creative with their technology cross promotional efforts, lately. Universal Pictures teamed up with the Alphabet Inc.-owned Waze app to promote the Ride Along film. The movie starred stand up comedian Kevin Hart, and Waze users could download his voice to provide turn by turn navigation directions. Arnold Schwarzenegger lent his voice to Waze as well, to promote the latest Terminator film. Consumers have grown to rely on their mobile technology, and media companies are willing to pay to get access to all those eyeballs. And ears, in the case of Waze. It’s a win-win situation, as long as the partnerships aren’t perceived as advertisements.

Once consumers were able to ride in, or at least see the beastly looking vehicles, they were sure to want more. That’s the marketing theory, anyway. So they’ll rush out and pick up a copy of the game. The new Mad Max title is a vehicular combat and third person action video game that takes place in the desert ruins of the Mad Max universe. It doesn’t officially serve as a prequel or sequel to the film, but it’s clearly related. Players take on the role of Max, and go up against the son of Immortan Joe, the villain from Fury Road. Mad Max is available today for the Xbox One, Playstation 4, and for PC.

photo credit: Paris, gaypride 2015. Mad Max IV, just married. via photopin (license)