Name your child Jason – Win Codemasters games

In a somewhat original PR stunt, Codemasters is asking new British parents to name their child Jason, after the Greek mythological hero, who also happens to be the main character in their recently-released title Rise of the Argonauts. The full press release is as follows:

Leading video game publisher Codemasters is embarking on a quest to re-populate the nation with Jasons.

The firm, whose video game Rise of the Argonauts™ launched on February 6th 2009, is looking to knock Jack, Thomas, Oliver and Joshua from the top of the UK’s favourite boys names by encouraging parents to name their sons after the game’s hero.

The name ‘Jason’ is from Greek origin, meaning “healer”. It has been considered an English name since the 17th Century, yet – whilst it consistently ranks as one of the US’s most popular names – its popularity has faded in the UK over recent years, dropping down out of the top 50.

It’s now time to bring it back: Codemasters’ goal is to elevate Jason’s ranking in the end-of-year boys names, issued in December 2009.

Over the coming weeks, Codemasters will be running editorial at www.bringbackjason.com in an effort to rejuvenate the popularity of the name. The blog will look at naming and social trends as well as asking: just what has the UK got against Jasons these days?

Any parent who names their new son “Jason” will be eligible to win a year’s supply of the firm’s video games on their chosen platform. All they have to do is fax, post or email a copy of the birth certificate to [email protected] for the opportunity to enter the prize draw. *

“These days, babies names are influenced by celebrities – and there aren’t that many famous Jasons any more,” says Richard Eddy, Director of Communications, Codemasters. “We hope our Rise of the Argonauts hero can act as a ‘virtual’ star, encouraging new parents to rejuvenate this one-great English name. Jasons, friends of Jasons, and anyone interested in onomastics should keep an eye on the blog over the coming weeks, as we document our quest to re-populate the nation with Jasons.”

The actual prize is only five Codemasters games (only one of which has an average review score over 65%), so calling them ‘a year’s supply’ is stretching the truth a little. Nevertheless, if you were planning to call your child Jason anyway, then you may as well get some free games for your trouble. Although if you have a newborn baby, you probably have better things to think about than entering a competition…

Although the name Jason is nowadays probably best associated with the hockey mask-wearing psycho from the Friday 13th movies, it could have been much worse had Codemasters been promoting a different game. Imagine welcoming little baby GRID into the world…