Strategy Trinkets, trash and adult colouring books

On Tuesday night I accidentally (on purpose) spent too much [...]

read
Design Your brand is your user experience

There’s a lot to be said for the growing field [...]

read
Digital Merry Amex-mas (Augmented Fun From Down Un)

Here’s a nice little present from American Express in Australia. [...]

read
Culture Where do you stand on SOPA and PIPA? read

Big Orange Slide

Tuesday, February 7th, 2012

The new Halo campaign: seriously?

September 7, 2010 by Matt Rogers

Illustration by Nancy Ng

For the last week, there’s been a thing in a parking lot near our office that resembles a large black pylon. It’s about 8 feet tall. Has an inscription on it. The other morning it was billowing smoke. I have no idea what it means, but I do know that it’s part of the campaign for Halo: Reach, the latest instalment in the super popular game series.

As someone in advertising, I question whether it’s self indulgent. Whether I’m just not getting it. Whether I ask myself too many questions.

But as an occasional gamer, I have to admit that it’s not doing its job. Large black smoking pylons don’t get me excited to play the game.

Halo: Reach hits stores in a couple of weeks and, per the Halo standard, there is an absolutely gargantuan advertising budget for it. The campaign—helmed by AKQA and AgencyTwoFifteen—is sprawling, immersive and detailed.

They have TV spots, outdoor installations (hey, a smoking black pylon!), online videos, and a tie-in with Doritos and Pepsi. But the big kahuna of the campaign is the robotic arm on RememberReach.com.

The robotic arm adds a point of light to a light sculpture. Not just any light sculpture, mind you, but a light sculpture that serves as a monument to the Spartan warriors.

Not being a Halo player, I don’t know whether light sculptures are a regular thing in that world. But in this world, they seem a bit ridiculous. Unless you’re into Lite-Brite.

The head-scratching doesn’t end there. RememberReach.com also features a bunch of live-action videos – soap opera-ish vignettes of everyday life before the alien craziness goes down. A husband and wife arguing, a mom going on a business trip, a girl letting go of her red balloon. (Damn, sounds like my weekend.)

I could forgive the melodrama if this were Alien 5: That’s Gotta Hurt! or something from the Gene Roddenberry franchise. But, Jiminy Cricket guys! This is a video game launch! Get me pumped to shoot stuff.

By reveling in the minutiae of the Halo world, they seem to be speaking only to those already immersed in it. Of course you want to speak to your core audience—preach to your own choir—but is there not a greater opportunity in reaching out to those who aren’t converted? When we work on a beer campaign, we’re not advertising to the guy who drinks it, we’re advertising to the guy who doesn’t.

I put it to you, advertisers or gamers, or none of the above: when does it make strategic sense to market almost exclusively to your existing fan base?

9 Comments on "The new Halo campaign: seriously?"

Make a Comment


By submitting a comment, you agree to Grip Limited’s Guidelines, Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.


BIG ORANGE SLIDE: © 2010, Grip Limited. All rights reserved. Comments posted on this blog are the individual contributors personal opinions and do not necessarily represent the views of Grip Limited, its vendors, or its clients, nor the contributors respective employers or clients. Complaints, concerns and general hysteria: blogombudsman@griplimited.com