Hasta La Creative!

72andSunny launched a cinematic teaser trailer for Call of Duty: Black Ops III, entitled “Ember.”

Beginning with the message “Mankind’s greatest mistake will be its inability to control the technology it has created, the spot, which runs almost three minutes long, follows technological advancements from the athletic doping scandals of the recent past to the year 2065 when the U.S. government is accused of weaponizing human beings with tech like DNA enhancement and retinal chips. “Ember” aims to pique viewers’ interest by providing just a glimpse of what is to be expected from the game’s sci-fi storyline, ending with a very brief look at what appears to be in-game footage.

“Today’s live action creative asset helps to establish the universe, while asking viewers the provocative question, how far would you go? All in the context of human performance, but at the trade-off of a portion of your humanity,” said Tim Ellis, chief marketing officer, Activision. “Its aim is to drive curiosity and discussion, further pulling fans into the fiction and set the stage for the gameplay world premiere reveal.”

The full gameplay reveal in question is scheduled for April 26th, and we can expect more from 72andSunny hyping the release of the latest addition to Activision’s popular franchise before the game’s release later this year.

Credits:

Agency: 72andSunny
Chief Executive Officer: John Boiler
Chief Creative Officer: Glenn Cole
Chief Strategy Officer: Matt Jarvis
Executive Creative Director: Frank Hahn
Creative Director, Writer: Josh Fell
Creative Director, Designer: Rey Andrade
Lead Writer: Jed Cohen
Sr. Writer: Kako Mendez
Sr. Designer: Robbin Ingvarsson
Strategy Director: John Graham
Sr. Strategist: Daniel Teng
Chief Production Officer: Tom Dunlap
Director of Film Production: Sam Baerwald
Executive Producer: Dan Ruth
Producer: Shannon Worley
Production Coordinator: Alissa Stevens
Brand Director: Mike Parseghian
Brand Director: Simon Hall
Brand Manager: Brian Kim
Brand Coordinator: Jack Young
Business Affairs Director: Amy Jacobsen
Business Affairs Director: Alex Lebosq
Business Affairs Manager: Kelly Ventrelli
Business Affairs Manager: Beau Thomason
Business Affairs Manager: Casey Brown

Activision needed some high-impact firepower to tout its downloadable Black Ops 2: Uprising content, which is set for release next week on Xbox 360. Two riotous "replacers" answered the Call of Duty. Veteran movie tough guy Peter Stormare reprises his role as a nattily attired, ludicrously intense dude who substitutes for average Joes in their daily lives so they'll have more time to play the massively popular game. Stormare, just as insanely on edge as he was in his January debut, is joined by equally well-dressed, righteously kick-ass sidekick J.B. Smoove, aka actor-comedian Jerry Brooks.

The pitchmen wring every drop of humor from absurd "replacement" situations in this new three-minute clip from 72andSunny. They're both tightly wound, yet handle pressure differently. Stormare speaks softly and with great deliberation; it seems like his face might crack open from the tension building up inside. His barely repressed murderousness bubbles up as he tells a slow-choosing customer to "Pick a Sammmich" when he and Smoove substitute for counter help at an oddly named fast-food joint. (Note how he threateningly brandishes a knife, just as McDonald's crew members do in real life if you don't order fast enough.)

Smoove, conversely, lets it all hang out, and his loud, rapid-fire bursts of dialogue ricochet through the pair's adventures. Replacing an attorney, he delivers his closing argument: "Is my client guilty? Probably. Who cares?" When Stormare chides him from the defense table ("You're doing it wrong"), Smoove explodes, "I'm doin' it the way I'm gonna do it, OK? Let me do this, OK? … I'm in my zone right now! Did he do it? I DON'T KNOW!" He's also great as a happy-happy, hyperactive fill-in TV weatherman, emoting to the max as he warns, "There's a 45 percent chance of swamp ass today, New Orleans. Be careful out there!"

Sure, it's basically just a sendup of the familiar buddy-cop/action-flick formula—there's even a "Bad Cop, Bad Cop" bit where both actors smash every prop in an interrogation room. But these two elevate the material, which is superior to start with, to a stratospheric level. They share a rare chemistry, the kind attained by John Hodgman and Justin Long in Apple's "Get a Mac" campaign, or James Garner and Mariette Hartley in Polaroid commercials of yore—for those of a certain age who, like myself, have to bump up the point size to read these advertising reviews. Stormare, Smoove—what are you waiting for? Guys, for the love of God, replace me!

Pelos comentários e não curti deste vídeo do canal de Call of Duty, não. Para promover seu programa Friday Night Fights — que só pode ser visto por quem assina o pacote Elite — o pessoal da Activision marcou uma partida de Modern Warfare 3 entre a vlogger iJustine (e amigos) e um time encabeçado por Michelle Rodrigues, a atriz preferida de Hollywood para o papel de “garota badass”, que ao ser condenada por dirigir perigosamente no Hawaii durante as gravações de Lost preferiu ficar um tempo na cadeia do que ter que prestar serviços comunitários.

A proposta inicial do Friday Night Fights é mostrar os melhores jogadores de CoD para que nós, meros piabas, possamos aprender alguma coisa e a galera não se mostrou muito empolgada com o evento “global”.

Se os videogames são o máximo do protagonismo do conteúdo onde você é o herói será que queremos ver celebridades jogando videogames? Para que eu quero ver o Neymar jogando Fifa se eu posso ser o Neymar? Ou, melhor ainda, ser o Messi?

Botar celebridades é divertido ou é a galera da nova mídia pensando como velha mídia? Até quando teremos posts de blogs que sempre terminam em perguntas? Ficam aí os questionamentos.

Post originalmente publicado no Brainstorm #9
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