9 Circles of Hell and the Campaigns behind them
It's November 9th and another Circle of Hell has opened over at Electronic Arts. Since the anouncement of new IP Dante's Inferno, EA has been all over the industry building hype through some ridiculous marketing stunts. I will not debate the responsibilities of using a profound piece of literature, to build the narrative for an action game. Let's just look at how these marketing stunts are being executed and whether or not it has had an affect on the audience. I believe their original campaign is developed around the 7 deadly sins, but the 9 circles are the levels in the game. Either way, most of the circles are the same are similiar to the sins committed, so we will just apply the camapaign stunts across the circles. The game also has a "normal" marketing campaign as well, and if after this you are interested, you can go to EA's site for more information here.
Limbo - During this year's E3, Electronic Arts staged a fake Christian protest against the game, complete with signs that read "EA = Electronic Anti-Christ." The idea of religious protest against a video game is sure to make headlines, even if this isn't the first time. Lest we for the Hindus community's outrage over “Hanuman: Boy Warrior” a PS2 game. The protest eventually spurred actual Christian activists to denounce the silly stunt. The funny thing is, becuase the initial impression was the demonstration was real, EA was able to get twice as much converage for one activity, since every post was followed up with a clarification. Well played EA.
Lust – At Comic Con this year, Electronic Arts was running a contest that promises " dinner and a sinful night with two hot girls, a limo service, paparazzi and a chest full of booty " as a reward for snagging multiple pictures with any booth babes, committing "acts of lust." First off, booth babes probably have a hard enough time just being an entire convention filled with nerds, objects of affection. Now, you are basically antagonizing these gamers to go out and get a booth babe, from any company, not exclusively EA, to take a demeaning picture. Obviously this could not end well. Not only did some "winners" refuse their prize to make a point, but essentially EA is alienating their fan base. For it being one of the easiest sin's to campaign over, it seemed like EA had really messed this one up for all intents an purpose.
Gluttony – What better way to say your sorry than with cake. Of course, EA didn't want to waste another opportunity to market Dante's, so instead of a normal cake, EA went with an arm cake.
Gamespot was the lucky media outlet to receive it and from an epic cake point of view, this one is spot on. Though it didn't get as much coverage across the various media outlets, in the basic application to the game it seems pretty accurate. Sadly, execution was lacking.
Greed – EA then sent out checks for $200 to various journalists and media outlets which read; “By cashing this check you succumb to avarice by hoarding filthy lucre but by not cashing it, you waste it, and thereby surrender to prodigality.” Some chose to destroy the check (Brian Crecente @Kotaku) or donate it to charity (Chris Grant @Joystiq), but either way it got Dante’s Inferno back into headlines. Cheapy D of CAG.com actually calculated the value of doing something like this. Here, he looked at the cost of advertising on Kotaku, as compared to pulling a stunt like this:
“Kotaku charges an $8 CPM (cost per 1,000 banner impressions) for their standard advertising banners. Their news post about this PR stunt will likely surpass 40,000 views. Look Into To err on the safe side, let's say the total cost of the check and fancy box is $300. Since Crecente burned the check, EA basically spent the equivalent of a $2.50 CPM for a front page news post on Kotaku.” Now, that’s a pretty good deal when you’re trying to utilize the advertising budget effectively.
Anger (Wrath) - A 17 pound package crate appeared on the doorstep of numerous journalists. Once the twine was removed from the outside, a series of moody overtones began playing, which were quickly silenced by the horrific noise of Rick Astley's Never Gonna Give You Up blaring from inside the box. The catch, the box was basically sealed shut, with no way to turn it off! It would not stop until you cracked open the crate and disconnected that power source. Nothing like the sweet melodies of Rick Astley to bring out the anger in someone.
With Heresy opening to the public, I wonder what EA has planned next? Will we get a video montage of the "Buddy" Jesus holding a Popes Gone Wild video, or is the Catholic Church planning on releasing a new line of Dante's Inferno propylatics? Let us not forget that there are still the cirlces of Violence,
Fraud, and Treachery; left to inspire the audience to pay attention to EA's new franchise. It will stay on my radar until its release, if only for the LOLs.
*Note: All photos were found using Google Image Search
It's November 9th and another Circle of Hell has opened over at Electronic Arts. Since the anouncement of new IP Dante's Inferno, EA has been all over the industry building hype through some ridiculous marketing stunts. I will not debate the responsibilities of using a profound piece of literature, to build the narrative for an action game. Let's just look at how these marketing stunts are being executed and whether or not it has had an affect on the audience. I believe their original campaign is developed around the 7 deadly sins, but the 9 circles are the levels in the game. Either way, most of the circles are the same are similiar to the sins committed, so we will just apply the camapaign stunts across the circles. The game also has a "normal" marketing campaign as well, and if after this you are interested, you can go to EA's site for more information here.
Lust – At Comic Con this year, Electronic Arts was running a contest that promises " dinner and a sinful night with two hot girls, a limo service, paparazzi and a chest full of booty " as a reward for snagging multiple pictures with any booth babes, committing "acts of lust." First off, booth babes probably have a hard enough time just being an entire convention filled with nerds, objects of affection. Now, you are basically antagonizing these gamers to go out and get a booth babe, from any company, not exclusively EA, to take a demeaning picture. Obviously this could not end well. Not only did some "winners" refuse their prize to make a point, but essentially EA is alienating their fan base. For it being one of the easiest sin's to campaign over, it seemed like EA had really messed this one up for all intents an purpose.
Gluttony – What better way to say your sorry than with cake. Of course, EA didn't want to waste another opportunity to market Dante's, so instead of a normal cake, EA went with an arm cake.
Gamespot was the lucky media outlet to receive it and from an epic cake point of view, this one is spot on. Though it didn't get as much coverage across the various media outlets, in the basic application to the game it seems pretty accurate. Sadly, execution was lacking.
“Kotaku charges an $8 CPM (cost per 1,000 banner impressions) for their standard advertising banners. Their news post about this PR stunt will likely surpass 40,000 views. Look Into To err on the safe side, let's say the total cost of the check and fancy box is $300. Since Crecente burned the check, EA basically spent the equivalent of a $2.50 CPM for a front page news post on Kotaku.” Now, that’s a pretty good deal when you’re trying to utilize the advertising budget effectively.
With Heresy opening to the public, I wonder what EA has planned next? Will we get a video montage of the "Buddy" Jesus holding a Popes Gone Wild video, or is the Catholic Church planning on releasing a new line of Dante's Inferno propylatics? Let us not forget that there are still the cirlces of Violence,
Fraud, and Treachery; left to inspire the audience to pay attention to EA's new franchise. It will stay on my radar until its release, if only for the LOLs.
*Note: All photos were found using Google Image Search
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