Ant Farm Teases Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Release for Activision

With the release of Activision’s Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare coming up on November 4th, Ant Farm has released a 60-second gameplay trailer, the last piece in the long advertising onslaught for the game, which kicked off with a reveal trailer starring Kevin Spacey (who voices a character in the game) back in May. 

Lines from Spacey’s in-game character hold together the trailer, along with gameplay footage and quotes from advanced reviews of the title, such as Forbes‘ “…transcends the line between game and film…” The spot highlights the changes from previous iterations in the franchise, touting a more important plot and improved multiplayer while putting the game’s improved graphics on display. Fans of the franchise have probably already put in their pre-orders but emphasizing the changes in the franchise could bring some newcomers on board.

“We’ve been partners with Activision on the Call of Duty franchise from its infancy, and over the years we’ve had the fantastic opportunity to see it grow to become the massive pop culture phenomenon it is today,” said Rob Troy, chief creative officer at Ant Farm. “This year, the graphics and the multiplayer aspects of Advanced Warfare took a huge leap forward, so the creative aspects behind this campaign needed to pay homage to that.” (more…)

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Lionel Messi Reconfigures a City for Samsung in ‘The Developer’

Question: What would a contemporary soccer-related version of “Les Miserables” look like if we replaced all the singing actors with kids and threw in the craftiest living man in cleats? Answer: This tw0-minute Leo Burnett commercial promoting Samsung’s Galaxy Note 3 and accompanying smart watch. When Lionel Messi isn’t dominating the pitch or allegedly evading taxes, he’s also rebuilding cities as an urban developer! For the kids!

From a narrative perspective, this spot is about as corny as it gets – I think it will be very tough to top the new pair of Samsung ads that show the progression of pop-culture smart watches over the years and harp on some brilliantly revealed nostalgia. But “The Developer” is enjoyable on a micro level if you don’t think about it too hard, kind of like every James Cameron movie. Messi on his suit and tie. Kids singing a cute version of Lorde’s single “Royals.” There’s even a building demolition scene if you’re into that. And if you’re not, there’s always Messi, on his suit and tie, smiling, playing soccer with kids. Everybody loves that.  Credits after the jump.

continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.