PWNED

Ah yes. Video games. This will be my second post on video game advertisements, but in this fine segment I'm straying away from the sports aspect and focusing more on the ads themselves. I am surrounded by video game fiends; from my brothers at home, my manager in Austin to my boyfriend in Houston. Even though I might not be the craziest gamer on the planet, I still manage to keep somewhat up to date with what is coming out. And on that note, I can definitely appreciate whenever a company (in this case a game) creates some truly creative advertisements. Below I have picked out three of my favorite game ads that I have come across recently-Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Dead Island and Assassin's Creed II. Enjoy!

This Call of Duty video is probably one of the funniest ads that I have seen for a video game. I have re-watched this video numerous times, because it A; funny B; creative and C; relatable. This is like the ad trifecta. I have tried my hand at a little COD, and I am definitely the n00b. Hands down. I know there are specials techniques to this game-trust me-I've seen them first hand...but it's just too much fun to be like Dwight Howard at the end of the video and shoot the grenade launcher into the blue clear sky.

Ah Dead Island. I'm a huge zombie fan so when my boyfriend was playing this and sending me texts about creating new weapons to fend off the swarming zombies-how could I not be interested? I've played this game a little bit, and it's definitely fun. The video on the other hand, is very emotional. I've never seen a game ad like this before. The overall execution is amazing and powerful. While going through my twitter feed a couple  months ago I remembered briefly reading something about this becoming a movie because the trailer was so great. My initial reaction was confusion. Really? How could a video game ad be that powerful and emotional and have enough content to make a feature length movie? But then while at work, my manager showed me the trailer, and I was blown away. And much like COD, I have watched this video over and over again.

Alrighty, so my next selection comes from Assassin's Creed II. This was an ad that was run in Game Pro magazine. When you come to this page, you read the copy and it's simple enough. But the real surprise comes when you turn the page....\

These two pages are stuck together by some sort of glue, and when you finally pull them apart...the result is a masterfully executed decapitation (no pun intended). This ad is brilliant. It is ads like this that originally peaked my interest in getting into the advertising world. The shear creativity and outside the box thinking that is inherent in this ad, and the prior two, is exactly what I love about this industry and what continues to amaze me everyday I see something new.

Catvertising. It's a thing.

My cat, Mr. Tinkles, is amazing. Granted he might be a little overweight, but I love him anyways. Cats are a constant source of entertainment. Seriously though. Who hasn't seen a cat doing something bizarre, like getting stuck in a box? Or, trying to no avail, to shake a piece of tape or some other sticky substance from their paws? It's pretty funny and always a welcomed break from our mundane work day.

Here is one of my personal faves. Love me some Keyboard Cat.

Toronto advertising agency, John St. recently created a parody video where they take advantage of this growing fad. Their video focuses on the concept of "Catvertising". Creative Director, Stephen Jurisic states, "nobody wants to see ads anymore. They want cat videos". And who's to say he is wrong? I think the world could use a few more cat videos.

Last year, John St. also released a video entitled "Pink Ponies: A Case Study", where they showed, "how they made an 8-year-old's birthday part a success in an already cluttered birthday market." The video shows a breakdown of all the components of the "campaign" (including direct mail and social media) that went into effect to make Chelsea Bedano's birthday a success.

Both of these videos from John St. are very creative and a great example of thinking outside the box. Enjoy!

[Also, a special shout-out to Ad Week for posting these videos!]

They are out there...

I have always been a fan of Aliens and UFOs. They absolutely fascinate me. On any given day of the week you can catch me watching an episode or two of UFO Hunters along with a variety of History Channel "Alien" themed shows. My thought is, if Aliens really do exist I need to know as much about them as possible before they come. That way when they show up at my door in angry mob form (slight Spongebob reference for all you intense fans like me) ready to take over the world, I will be prepared (and most likely nerding out hard-core).

So, naturally, when I came across this compilation of Alien themed ads, I was in love immediately. Below are my faves, but the link to the rest of the group is here: http://creativebits.org/inspiration/ufos_advertising Enjoy!