In one of the unlikelier pronouncements of this election cycle, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney told an interviewer in April, “I think this campaign is ultimately going to be about jobs, not dogs.” He may have spoken too soon.
Scott Crider, the man behind Dogs Against Romney, announced on Tuesday the coming release of The Crate Escape: Seamus Unleashed, a revenge fantasy in the form of a video game designed for mobile devices. In the game, Romney’s pet dog escapes from his crate atop the family car and chases the former Massachusetts governor through a variety of landscapes.
Crider founded Dogs Against Romney in 2007 after hearing the story of a 1983 Romney vacation during which Romney's Irish setter, Seamus, was strapped to the roof of the car in a crate for a 12-hour drive to Canada. Crider said in an interview that the group, which has garnered significant media attention, represented his first foray into both politics and animal advocacy.
Crider also said he held no strong opinions about Romney before learning of Seamus’s story. “I vote more for the person than I do the party,” said Crider, a registered independent.
Despite the apparent whimsy of a cartoonish, dog-bites-man video game, Crider said he believes The Crate Escape could have an impact. With the flood of money pouring into the campaign, he said he believes a video game offers a “great way for us to cut through all the clutter and really engage in the message.”
“It’s a new medium,” he said, “and it’s a medium that millions of people carry around in their pockets.”
And Crider, who has 25 years of experience in marketing, has a knack for timing. The game, being designed in conjunction with Censault, will be released on Aug. 26, which is both National Dog Day and the day before the Republican National Convention.
Click here for a video of Crider talking about the game.