I suspect you may have already seen this story, under the great headline "Sony apologizes for dead goat prop." If not, check it out. Sony recently held the launch of their much-anticipated "God of War II" video game in Athens and planned the event around a Greek mythological theme. Not a bad idea, given that's the milieu for the game, but someone got a bit carried away and included a dead goat in the proceedings. Guests (served by scantily clad female hostesses) competed to see who could eat the most "warm entrails", a meat soup made to look like goat entrails. (I wonder how you make something look like goat entrails?) I've seen a few public photos from the event, including one that showed the goat.

Anyhow, after the whole incident came to light Sony realized the error of their marketing ways and issued a formal apology. I particularly liked Sony's official observation, "We recognize that the use of a dead goat was in poor taste and fell below the high standards of conduct we set ourselves."

So add that lesson to the marketing handbook: No dead goats. Or dead creatures in general, I'd say.