Adverts, man – when advertisers get it wrong, like they did here (Please don’t click this link), it can make you lose all faith in humanity and any other living species in the known and unknown universe. But when they nail it, you could argue that a commercial is pure art. And never is that more obvious than with ads for video games and consoles. After all, we’ve all seen those generic, fade-to-black-every-two-seconds adverts for action movies, with ridiculous voice-over, or cliché perfume commercials where some impossibly beautiful person wanders through a New York apartment with billowing curtains and a bit of Mozart playing over the top. But thankfully video game guys are a little more creative than that. Don’t believe us? Check these out…
Call of Duty: Black Ops II – ‘The Replacers’
Call of Duty ads usually go all out, putting real folks and celebs into a Hollywood-style warzone filled with explosions and improbable action moves – now that’s a power fantasy and a half! And while they’re awesome, ‘The Replacers’ is far superior. Clever concept, funny advert made even better by Peter Stormare’s deadpan delivery. Wanna play COD? Hire a Replacer to look after your day-to-day duties.
PlayStation 3 – ‘Michael’
Wow, ‘Michael’ is the ultimate celebration of average gamers – not all of whom are called Michael. The ad plays out like a who’s who of awesome Sony game characters, from Solid Snake to Nathan Drake and beyond, trading war stories and celebrating the one guy who went through it all with them: the gamer.
Halo 3 – ‘Believe’
We may live in the CGI-dominated age, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t appreciate a little old-school advertising. Halo 3’s outstanding commercial manages to depict the utter savagery of war, and shows more emotion than your average indie film. And they do it all with inanimate, plastic action figures.
PlayStation 2 – ‘The Third Place’ by David Lynch
Director, David Lynch isn’t known for his sensible and mainstream approach. So, no surprise that his ad series for the Sony PlayStation were pretty off-the-wall. ‘Bambi’ may be the funniest of the lot, but the weirdest of them all is undoubtedly ‘The Third Place’. Warning: You won’t know what you’ve just watched. But it sure is memorable.
Sega Saturn – ‘Segata Sanshiro’
Sega threw normal out the window when they decided to market their Saturn console with Segata Sanshiro. He’s an over-the-top martial arts superstar who’s not above smacking teenagers about if it means they learn the true power of the Saturn. Oh, and he manages to save Sega HQ – and the world – from a bomb by… Well, just watch.
All that just makes us excited to get gaming. And you can do the same. Just pick up one of our cheap televisions and a console and you’re good to go. For more info about our stock, simply browse our site or contact us on 0121 327 3273 and our awesome team will be delighted to help.
