McCann's gamers highly stimulated by Xbox
The dude's enraptured look toward the end of this U.K. spot (posted below) by McCann Erickson for the Xbox 360 is, to cop a phrase from another McCann campaign, priceless. One might say even call it orgasmic. At any rate, he's clearly enjoying himself as he strums on his Guitar Hero mini-guitar. Note also, if you will, the position of said instrument. I'm not panning this approach or the spot by any means. On the contrary, such a take on gaming is more honest and compelling than most of the effects-crazed entries in the genre. Video games today are all about immersion. This guy, if nothing else, looks pretty darn immersed. His geeky pal off to the side playing DJ Hero seems awfully happy, too. You could interpret their looks as signs of near-euphoric digital satisfaction, which surely casts the product in a glowing light with much of its target audience. Casual gamers and those who don't indulge, of course, will smirk and assume the guys are just wasting time playing with themselves. —Posted by David Gianatasio |
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Published on November 9, 2009 | Permalink
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Kia sells its Soul for Xbox Live sweepstakes
Kia Soul (yes, the car for the hippest of hamsters) has signed up for an Xbox promotion. The national sweepstakes on Xbox Live has a grand prize of a new Soul and a VIP, all-expenses-paid trip to Los Angeles to attend E3 2009 on June 2. (There's also a trove of little prizes, like a home-entertainment system with a 47-inch HDTV, an Xbox 360 Elite console, a year of Xbox Live Gold, and ... a Zune.) The Hyundai-owned agency Innocean Worldwide brokered the arrangement with Microsoft, and apparently failed to tell Kia that Zunes are lame (though I'd never look a gift 120-gigabyte Zune in the mouth). What's more interesting is how you enter the promotion. It's one of Xbox Live's downloadable contest entries where you register your gamertag. Xbox Live sweepstakes are cool and all, but the potential to associate your brand with extra game-related content while giving prizes is way cooler. Right now, Lunchables is letting you customize your Rock Band avatar and your Banjo-Kazooie vehicle. So, Kia, where's my downloadable level where I get to drive the Soul through a battlefield cheekily named "Don't Lose Your Soul in the Gears of War"? —Posted by Rebecca Cullers |
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Published on April 23, 2009 | Permalink
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EA caught using Xbox gameplay in Wii spot
An Electronic Arts commercial for Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 has been banned in the U.K. in its current form for using Xbox 360 footage to promote the Wii version of the game. In the ad, Tiger is seen swinging a Wiimote, and the whole ad is overset with the Wii logo, but the graphics are Xbox. In its defense, EA said the Wii footage was not "of broadcast quality." Aside from a few nice Xbox shadows, the difference isn't that dramatic in the comparison above (larger version of the image here); it's certainly not as drastic as this tongue-in-cheek depiction. Even if it were, EA's solution is baffling. C'mon guys, video-game ads have been getting around showing real gameplay through good old-fashioned creativity since the Atari. You intercut small amounts of game footage into bigger amounts of non-game footage to create an amusing movie, an elaborate musical theater production, or even a full-length trailer in beautiful HD animation. Stealing another man's graphics? That's like claiming Tiger Woods can walk on water or something. It's just plain sacrilegious. Via Offworld. —Posted by Rebecca Cullers |
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Published on December 18, 2008 | Permalink
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Walking lips sing the praises of Xbox game
This T.A.G. spot for the Xbox 360 music game Lips lasts for only 60 seconds, but that's an awfully long time to watch a pair of animated lips stroll around singing A-Ha's '80s non-classic "Take On Me." Still, it's tough to turn away. The spot's almost hypnotic, if only because the fusion of image and audio are so unexpected and confounding. While watching, I shouted "WTF!" repeatedly. That's me—intense. I've also been known to shout "Take On Me" loudly during work hours. (Hey, drone in the next cube, people who complain to HR don't get invited to my holiday karaoke party!) At least the lips in this ad don't sing "Saved by Zero." |
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Published on November 19, 2008 | Permalink
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New Xbox commercials will blow your mind
Man, the fish-eyed smile on the woman in this Xbox 360 commercial really made me uncomfortable. But then the camera panned around to show the giant hole in the back of her head, and I relented somewhat. Undergoing a lobotomy that removes the entire brain and replaces it with a home theater must be excruciating, so we should all cut her a little slack. Same goes for the slaw-jawed yokels in the other two ads, here and here. The T.A.G creatives behind the campaign must have gone through similar procedures, because no one with an intact brain would confuse vacant staring with living in the moment. —Posted by David Kiefaber |
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Published on October 2, 2008 | Permalink
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