Automaker to pay users of Facebook's PetVille

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Kia Motors has taken a bold leap into social media by offering credits for the hit Facebook game PetVille to users who are prepared to interact with its brand.

PetVille (or Kia) fans will be able to earn PetVille cash, typically only available through gameplay or purchase, in return for creating their own music video in the application.

Users can create their own mashup of Kia's urban-themed "This or That" advertisement spots by rearranging clips over the music in the application.

Once the rearranged advertisement is complete, users can post the video onto their profile and will receive PetVille cash "in return for their interaction."

The campaign builds on the use of the Kia Soul hamsters in the automaker's TV spots, who ride around a city comparing their Kia Soul to mundane objects on wheels such as toasters and carboard boxes to a hip-hop song by The Black Sheep, which also features in the PetVille game.

Kia says that its move onto Facebook is designed to target "Generation Y," with the PetVille application boasting over 15 million monthly active users on the social networking website.

Earlier this week, Microsoft and General Motors announced that the Chevrolet Volt has been integrated as a game vehicle in the upcoming Xbox 360 game Kinect Joy Ride, scheduled to launch in November 2010.

http://www.kia.com