At a high tech conference, you have to do something to stand out from the crowd.

The Web Summit isn't really the kind of conference where so-called booth babes are widespread, so companies have to think outside the box. Free food doesn't really cut it, since the Web Summit is a free food paradise.

Recruitment consultants Morgan McKinley decided the best way to attract high tech talent was to go a little bit retro.

In contrast to last year, when the company drafted in a robot to help drum up attention, the recruitment firm took a trip down memory lane with a 1980s theme.

It had all the best things: the Super Mario Bros challenge, which gave you the chance to win an original NES. And a little bit of encouragement never hurts: those who took the challenge got a bag full of sweets straight out of the 1980s too.

Promoting the recruitment agency were Mario and Luigi; those who snapped a photo of themselves with the Nintendo plumbers and tweeted it to @morganmckinley with the hashtag #websummit were in with a chance to win a hamper full of retro sweets.

Judging by the number of people clutching the free bags, Morgan McKinley may well have managed to hit the Web Summit sweet spot.