How To… Master Gaming Advertising

Games today are so rich in story and detail, that they have become entertainment pieces on par (and sometimes superior, I daresay) to TV series and blockbuster movies. 

To that end, working on game advertising is different than working on a product; the story and the big picture are already there. The challenge often is to stay true to the vision of the creators of the game, while still having your own take on the game universe.  

Differences & Similarities:

Working on game advertising is a process quite unlike normal advertising. Consider that a Triple A title take years to make, with hundreds and sometimes thousands, of super talented creatives fine-tuning every detail. It’s a great challenge and responsibility to translate all this effort into 90 seconds but when done right, game advertising can be an entertainment piece in itself. 

The second difference is that unlike most advertising, gamers actually can’t wait for new ads to come out and have really high standards for them. It’s really satisfying, and sometimes scary to have such a captive audience that discusses every single detail of your ad, down to the graffiti on the walls.

Trust & Collaboration:

In my experience, a game studio functions a little bit like a TV series; in that there's a showrunner - who is responsible for the overall vision and oversees the different departments. When working with Ubisoft, we got the chance to meet their showrunners - and I found the conversations with them and their insights very inspiring and helpful. 

We were lucky to have been given a lot of freedom by Ubisoft to develop the creative work. They already do some incredibly well-produced CG in-game trailers, so our approach was to add value through live-action pieces that add layers of depth to the game narrative. To me, the best game ads do this - not just show you what you will play, but why you should play.

Evolution of Games Industry: 

Game studios are often at the forefront of cutting edge technology and I expect to see a lot of immersive VR and AR experiences. VR is particularly exciting, because it allows you to plunge gamers in the game universe. For example, for For Honor (above), we recently created a 360 VR experience in which we immersed viewers directly in a bloody medieval battle.

The result, when viewed in 8K on the Oculus, is mesmerising - you see all the little details like the little puddles of water on the battlefield getting mixed with blood or the arrows ablaze raining down on you. Which is pretty epic!