Back in 1999 a startup that went by the name of Treeloot was looking for a way to drive in some traffic. In a stroke of evil marketing genius they decided to run a java-based (ugh!) banner ad feating a frenzied monkey and a mouse-controlled boxing glove. It stated simply, "PUNCH THE MONKEY AND WIN $20!". The web now had it's first interactive click-tease style advertisement; and boy were we pissed. This single ad spawned an ongoing legacy as hundreds of startups and their black-hearted marketing firms followed suit in a vain attempt to recapture the monkey's success.

Couldn't this all have been avoided? What does it say about human nature that so many of us couldn't resist knocking that bastard little monkey on his ass? The answer to this can only be known by studying ourselves in the mirror that these crass and loathesome pleas for attention represent.

Here at the Sucker Punch Saloon you can safely explore the bizarre world of these simplistic micro-games and draw your own conclusions. Are we doomed to a future of violence and destruction, endlessly seeking cheap thrills in an ultimately hopeless quest to quench our insatiable thirst for instant but shallow amusement? Or is it just the marketing droids are dicks?

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