Agency Spy

This spot is so good it hurts. They did their research getting the gamer speak down to a perfect science and WOW (pun intended) - check out how well they integrated  World of Warcraft (which has two million players in the US alone) and the gamer mentality without pushing it on consumers like so many folks did during they heyday of Second Life. Over a million views in two days. Saatchi & Saatchi wins the big prize for this one. Way to save car advertising kids.

From CNN Money: Burger King inked a licensing deal with mobile content provider Mobliss to create downloadable cell phone games that feature players vying for the role of the King; “by facing challenges and progressing in the virtual world of a Burger King-themed city, the company said.” BK is one of those brands that is totally unafraid of new media advertising and it has served them well. The success of their partnership with XBOX is just one great example. Applause for the King.

The Economist has a great piece up about the high expectations of mobile advertising both through text messages, as well as games. Worth a read.

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We’re so excited for Halo 3 and its accompanying ad campaign is a series of dramatic and evocative communications elements, created by McCann San Francisco, T.A.G., AKQA, Edelman PR and Microsoft Global Marketing that offers a detailed look at the “Halo” universe and Master Chief. We’re in love. The myth of Halo is coming to life. Along with all this comes a marketing blitz almost on par with that of the recent Simpsons’ movie that includes:

- An extensive micro-site

- A Halo 3 soda from Mountain Dew

- Burger King is branding its packaging in Halo 3 motifs. So old school, but we still love it.

- Pontiac is holding a contest to win a limited-edition Halo 3 G6 GXP street car

- 7-Eleven is offering themed Slurpee Cups that have already hit Ebay
- Halo 3 is also the official sponsor of the Projekt Revolution music tour

- A limited edition Halo themed Xbox 360 is also available

- There’s the Halo 3 ARG called Iris that recently took place

- And of course… there’s a NASCAR sponsorship

And YouTube is filling up with consumer created love letters like the one above all hailing the game’s main man, Master Chief.

Our sources tell us that DraftFCB has made it to the second round in the recent Playstation review. Can you believe it? We’re surprised that Draft gets business at all considering their very screwed up internal drama. However, that’s a testament to their New Biz team if we’ve ever heard one.

Also involved in the pitch for the first round was Publicis & Hal Riney, Publicis West, Deutsch/LA, Grey, Young & Rubicam, and JWT in San Francisco; and independents 72andSunny in El Segundo, Calif., and RPA. Oh! And the incumbents TBWA.

We’re not sure which of these agencies has also made it to the second circle along with Draft and which have been dropped. Anyone know?

Email us at agencyspy at mediabistro dot com or IM us : agencyspy

A few weeks ago, we wrote an appreciative post regarding the new Doritos campaign where they solicited ideas for video games. The recently picked five finalists are to have their games made. Sadly, there’s a bit of a backlash brewing due to poor execution. The winners were just announced and the gaming community with gaming website Kotaku spearheading the revolt. It seems that many of the finalists are rip-offs of actual existing games and their imagery. See all the finalists here.

Naturally, entrants and game designers are not only puzzled at the selection of finalists, but pissed that Doritos was ignorant of their culture enough to pick them. Add to this that Doritos called for “skies the limit” thinking only to a hire a flash based developer. For those who aren’t gamers, that means these are going to be very simple functioning games, which negates many entrants superior efforts. Plus, whomever posted the synopses must of just cut and pasted directly from the entries. You can’t help but notice the lack of clarity in the descriptions. Awful. Many are calling for a public apology on Doritos’ website forum.

Christ. If you’re going to launch a gaming campaign you have to do it right. Brands and agencies need to start getting okay with saying the words - “I don’t know.” Suck it up and hire a consultant if you have to or you could end up like poor Applebee’s, Suzuki and Court TV. Doritos has wasted what could of been an amazing in-road into a natural community for their flavored chips.

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Bigger than Second Life and badder than Michael Jackson could ever be, the massive multi-player online game World of Warcraft has become an addictive craze for more than 2 million players in North America, 1.5 million players in Europe, and 3.5 million players in China as of January, 2007. South Park devoted an episode to WOW and a film has also been optioned. Meanwhile, our 52-year old aunt is obsessed with telling us about the latest foray into lock picking and secondary talents. The PSA above is hilarious spoof on the effects of the long term fascination with the online role playing title - World of Warcraft - the anti-drug. Ha. Had us spitting up coffee this morning.

We love the broadcast/web only adverts that have recently been coming out for video game titles and their associated consoles. Whether or not they use in game footage or are set in the real world, game commercials these days are quite enticing - like mini films. Despite their creative appeal, many spots never make it past the censor board. Games, if you will recall, are dangerous. Check out the latest addition to hit the dustbin above, which is currently running on Yahoo!, BT and a host of video sites. It’s for Sony’s “This Is Living” campaign in support of the PS3, which has been running for a few months in Europe. The adverts show various quirky individuals talking about - you guessed it - what living means to them. Some are better than others with the episode being top notch. The spot features a disturbed gun-wielding man in a bathtub named Kovac. This guy is like the darker, harder version of Christian Slater’s character from Heathers. The spot manages to appeal to a wide swath of age ranges - from those old enough to understand Kovac’s litany on emotional death of working in an office to teens who spend most of their time dabbling in various forms of rebellion.

Interestingly, the Playstation console never makes an appearance in the spot. We’re for it. If you know anything about the console wars, then you’re probably aware that the PS3 has a hard time due to the graphics failing to live up to the hype (the Xbox 360 offers similar quality if not better) and that enormous price tag that hovers around $500. If you can’t sell on its superior game capabilities, then sell it on lifestyle. Yup-yup.

The ASA banned the spot for the underlying tones of violence. Meanwhile, the ad’s creators, TBWA, defended the banned commercial, saying: “The internet ad targeted an adult audience. It was intended to represent, nor describe, socially or aspirational behaviour.” We totally agree.

American football’s image has taken some serious body blows lately. There’s Pacman Jones, Odell Thurman, the Cleveland Brown’s Ryan Tucker, and who can forget Michael Vick? In the midst of all this hub-bub, the long awaited follow-up to video game title NFL 2K5 (widely regarded as one of the best football games ever) has finally landed. The game, All-Pro Football 2K8 features some of the best players the NFL has ever had. The usual advertising collateral was created for their campaign called “Football Resurrected,” but the makers of the game 2K and their ad agency, EVB, also seemed to have a moment of genius. EVB created webisodes featuring six legendary rap artists to speak the truth about why “the game is back.” MCs Rakim, M-1, Jurassic 5 and others rapped about individual players or aspects of the gameplay. The amazing Rakim apparently told EVB that, ‘I just want you to know that I’ve been playing 2K Sports since the Dreamcast guys.’

We’re applauding EVB. They did a great job of matching up the right genre (hip hop) to their target demographic (young males, suburban/urban, 12-25) with the right medium (the web). EVB also realized that the game features iconic players like Jerry Rice. Rightly, the campaign focuses on the “glory days” of the NFL  and that of hip-hop, too. Hey - they could of picked Ludacris rather than Rakim for these spot, but Rakim? He’s a totally “glory days” rapper. Where they may have missed the mark is by not employing video sharing sites to their full advantage. Currently, there are only 2 episodes loaded on YouTube. Shame, because the episodes are fun for any hip-hop fan, any football junkie.

Read an interview about the work with Jason Zada, Executive Creative Director and Co Founder of EVB, here.

We’re applauding. Can you hear us? area/code (the agency that’s not an agency you’ve never heard of but should start paying attention to) has created an amazing interactive game for Discovery Channel’s 20th Anniversary Shark Week. Called Sharkrunners, the game asks players to take on the role of marine biologists who are seeking to learn as much as possible about sharks through advanced observation techniques. Yeah, but that’s not the cool part - players control their ships against real-world white sharks with GPS units attached to their fins. “Ships in the game move in real-time, so players receive email and/or SMS alerts during the day when their boat is within range of an encounter. Players login, choose crewmembers and an approach technique, and then collect various data from the nearby sharks.”

Your jaw is hanging open right? Well there’s more… what’s happened is that a community of players have begun to offer each other tips and tricks to game the game. There are also solo warriors out there posting information about Sharkrunners that have no affiliation with area/code or The Discovery Channel. This is how you do it people. area/code has created a platform on which shark diehards, gamers, bored housewives and random teenagers can get involved with a television promotion in the real world. True, this is what area/code specializes in - BIG GAMES, but boy, they do it so well.

Here’s the insight: Agencies need to understand that gaming is a big huge term that doesn’t necessarily involve a console and that people want to play together. On this last point - all this consumer generated ad stuff is real cute and all, but again, how can you create a campaign for a brand that involves more than one guy creating a video or playing alone in his bedroom? Something to think about.

Via PSFK

Sweet. Doritos has asked videogamer to submit a game concept that Microsoft will build for its Xbox 360 gaming platform. It’s a gamers dream -sort of. The “Unlock Xbox” challenge asks consumers to submit a 500-word concept ideas for a game that involves the Doritos brand image, whether emphasizing the snack food’s shape, flavor or “intensity.” Five finalists will be selected for which, Microsoft will build prototypes where the public can vote to determine a winner. The final champion will have their game made and released next summer.

In case you didn’t know, there are probably millions of adults and teenagers sitting around wishing they were a game developer. This taps into their desire. Think of it - you win the Doritos challenge. Next stop? Electronic Arts. Agency Goodby, Silverstein & Partners will promote the contest with ads carrying the tagline, “You dream it. We build it.” Like that bit. Still… Wondering if the shop came up with the concept of the competition, too or they’re just playing a supporting role. Ideally, it’s the former, but you know… who needs an agency anymore?

And this is why Doritos rocks - they get it: “It’s not about what’s the next tactic in consumer-generated advertising,” said Rudy Wilson, brand manager at Doritos. “We know they love Doritos and they have other loves. How do we combine the loves?” Precisely. Video games and the crunchy chips go hand-in-hand. Doritos is a classic munchie food. Wonder how they’re going to rope in the potheads.

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