The stunt in question, which was put on by third-party software publisher THQ, took place outside the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco and involved 10,000 red balloons being released into the air.

Although the balloons, which contained game coupons, were meant to serve as incentive-based advertising for Homefront, the interest of prospective buyers largely went begging as many instead ended up bobbing uselessly in San Francisco Bay.

Speaking with the San Francisco Chronicle , Rod Fujita of the local Environmental Defense Fund said he was “flabbergasted” when he looked out of the window and saw “thousands of balloons dropping straight into the bay.”

THQ’s upcoming action adventure game Homefront takes place in a near-future United States and revolves around the country’s fictional invasion by the forces of North Korea.

According to THQ, the balloon release was the finale of a staged rally at the Yerba Buena Gardens convention center, and was designed to “simulate a method used by South Korea to send messages of hope to the North.”

Speaking out against the stunt, concerned environmentalists have said the balloons represent a genuine threat to wildlife in San Francisco Bay—not least because there are already recorded instances of turtles, whales and sea lions dying after the ingestion of balloon latex.

Although THQ initially reacted to complaints by insisting that the balloons are biodegrade and shouldn’t pose a risk to the environment, it has since dispatched a clean-up crew to locate and remove any wayward balloons that landed in the bay.

The Tech Herald