U.K. telecom provider O2 is the latest brand to break into Fortnite by creating an interactive music experience within the video game. Created by VCCP, the campaign marks the first time that The O2-an entertainment venue in London-will appear in a video game. It is also the first time that a U.K. music act, the…
Wendy’s has always taken an unconventional approach to social marketing, and its path to success on streaming platform Twitch followed that model. “We made a huge impact on Twitch without arguably the most important part of Twitch: the presence of the streamer,” VMLY&R group creative director McKay Hathaway said during Adweek’s Elevate: Experiential and Creativity…
As the pandemic has pushed live entertainment into the virtual realm over the course of the past year, innovation in the space was supercharged to fill the gaps left by the cancellation of in-person events. From gaming and sports to conferences and YouTube streaming, influencers and entertainers found new ways to create immersive and interactive…
Thanks to Covid-19 lockdowns, more than half of Americans have started playing video games. And that audience is more diverse than ever–Asian and Black people are more likely to identify as gamers than white players, with Hispanic gamers not far behind–and an increasing number of women are also playing video games, comprising nearly 41% of…
The global malnutrition crisis has only increased in the wake of the pandemic. To combat this, the Eleanor Crook Foundation has created a straightforward, easy-to-join initiative that seeks to link the vast population of gamers toward a common good. To assist the effort, all you have to do is play a video game. The concept…
Creators of live videos for Facebook Gaming already enjoy several monetization options, and some of those options are now being extended to creators of prerecorded and edited gaming videos, or video-on-demand. Facebook Gaming began testing its Stars monetization option for VOD content with a small group of creators, enabling viewers to send creators Stars and…
Sony Interactive Entertainment continues to bring a sense of epic adventure to its ads with its newest spot for its online game-enhancing subscription service PlayStation Plus. Pitting two players against each other in an ever-changing game of Best Of, the ad taps into the excitement of playing against friends and gives it the glossy finish…
Xbox has released an epic new ad as it looks to win over market share from arch-rival Sony PlayStation, in what is a very high-stakes year for the brands as they each gear up to launch a hotly anticipated new generation of consoles The 70-second global ad by longtime agency 215 McCann has been released…
Nike’s esports strategy focuses on three things. A region: China. A game: League of Legends. And a mission: player health. The athletic apparel brand’s first esports ad, created by Wieden+Kennedy Shanghai, packages this strategy into a 90-second energy-fueled bootcamp dubbed Camp Next Level. In the ad, professional players for the League of Legends Pro League…
At the outset of 2020, blockbusters such as Wonder Woman 1984, the latest chapter in the James Bond series No Time to Die and the long-awaited Top Gun sequel, not to mention another installment of Ghostbusters, were all scheduled to hit the silver screen. As is often the case, come Halloween these movies were likely…
Epic Games, maker of Fortnite, has acquired SuperAwesome, a tech platform that strives to make the internet safer for kids. Together the companies will build kid-safe services that protect children’s privacy and help create safer digital experiences. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. “More kids interact online than ever before and now is the…
If you’ve spent more time solving puzzles and collecting points on your phone during quarantine, consider yourself part of an in-crowd. In conversation with deputy brands editor Diana Pearl at Adweek’s Mobile Gaming summit, a group of industry experts discussed how the rise in mobile gaming is changing how brands approach influencer marketing in the…
The rise in mobile rise in mobile gaming has served Riot Games well throughout the pandemic, as users are looking for more ways to engage. “The mobile platform is really suiting their needs during the pandemic more than ever,” said Cathy Saidiner, Riot Games’ head of global channel publishing, at Adweek’s virtual event on mobile…
Sony’s latest ad for the newly released PlayStation 5, by adam&eveDDB, is so epic and action-packed that at first glance, one might mistake it for a movie trailer. The 60-second spot shows a man in a small boat on a rolling ocean who is suddenly surrounded by pirates and airships as his craft is drawn…
Since 2010, a summer hasn’t passed without a Marvel Cinematic Universe blockbuster. This year it was supposed to be Black Widow, the long-awaited back story of Scarlett Johansson’s character who has been a through line of the entire series since Iron Man 2. With Black Widow delayed until November due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the…
Brands have, like many of us, been pretty obsessed with Animal Crossing: New Horizons as the game has become an iconic aspect of quarantine life in 2020. That’s not to say every marketing tie-in or stunt has been a good fit, or that the integrations even made much sense. (Inclusive new avatar skin options from…
Gillette-owned razor brand Venus has partnered with Animal Crossing to create hundreds of new skin-inclusive avatars within the game, which has seen a huge surge in popularity as more people spend time at home due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Venus worked with digital designer Nicole Cuddihy to co-create the new avatar designs to promote its…
It’s not easy to get away overseas on vacation at the moment, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. So Tourism New Zealand, with the help of TBWASydney, found a way to open up the stunning country to virtual visitors. The tourism group and its agency partnered with Twitch and gaming influencer Loserfruit to gamify the country…
Can writing an article about next-gen AI storytelling be an adventure? We decided to find out by asking the video game AI Dungeon, fueled by today’s most highly advanced content creation platform, to co-write an article about…itself. As you can see from the resulting collaboration below, which includes our interview with the game’s creator, the…
Having debuted nearly 20 years ago, the Halo franchise is one of the most established in video game history. That’s both its biggest strength and biggest weakness when it comes to marketing a new installment of the game. Each new installment and each new marketing campaign supporting it must live up to the expectations of…
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